This is true for some industries and not others, I think... What "monopoly on knowledge" brings to my mind is academic journals. Have you ever tried to search

This is true for some industries and not others, I think... What "monopoly on knowledge" brings to my mind is academic journals. Have you ever tried to search them online? On the cheap end, it's like $40 a pop, before you even know how useful it is. Some cost a fortune, such that many people in certain industries can't justify keeping up with all the developments in their still-very-academia-centric field (where one's singular goal in life is to be published in as many expensive journals as possible). I love papers and studies, and my husband worked in industry as a mathematician, so this is something that I've come upon a lot. It really baffles me.