The Ethical Paradox of Research Valorisation: Knowledge Commodification Versus Public Good

ABSTRACT Driven by the escalating global emphasis on research impact, contemporary science policy has solidified around a valorisation imperative that increasingly treats knowledge as a strategic asset rather than a common heritage. This paper interrogates the ethical paradox that emerges as research outcomes are progressively viewed through the prism of economic utility, clashing with the foundational mission of science as a public good. By conceptualising publicly funded knowledge as a Polanyian fictitious commodity, the analysis deconstructs the institutional mechanisms that facilitate its disembedding from the social commons. Through a critical examination of two emblematic cases—the commercialisation of CRISPR gene‐editing and the technical enclosure of foundational AI—the inquiry reveals how pathways of legal and technical gatekeeping transform social resources into proprietary assets. Critically, it demonstrates that these valorisation regimes co‐produce systemic injustices, ranging from prohibitive price tags for essential therapies to the concentration of unaccountable digital power. In response to these structural failures, the paper proposes a normative framework wedding the principle of value pluralism with the procedural engine of Responsible Research and Innovation. By advancing these principles, it contributes to a critical reimagining of research valorisation, charting a principled course to better align scientific practice with its noble calling to serve the common weal.