Why aren't textbooks free yet?

As we discussed in class, it didn't take long for the computer and computing technology in general to transform from a hobby into an economic powerhouse for the world.  The modern world of commerce is controlled by computers and nearly all digital content is licensed in some way or another. Before the development of the internet, encyclopedias were converted into CD-ROMS to make access to a wealth of information more convenient for computer users.  These digital encyclopedias were still sold at a steep price, however, and this model of highly priced knowledge has continued and mutated since the dawn of the digital age.
     The concept of the encyclopedia began as a desire to accumulate all of the worlds knowledge into a single place but quickly became a way to sell all of the worlds knowledge to the inhabitants of the world.  Obviously the costs of writing and publishing such a large collection of data is a costly endeavor but the existence of resources like Wikipedia shows an obvious passion many people have for the free spreading of information and educational resources.  Nevertheless the bulk of valuable academic data in the world is still contained within copyrighted books that carry hefty price tags.  It would appear then that the goal of collecting educational material into one place was not for the betterment and convenience of mankind, but for the restriction of that data to only those who can afford to access it.
     In a perfect capitalist system, commerce is left uninhibited by government, but the idea that educational materials like textbooks should be a commercially traded good clashes with the goal of improving society through education.  If we consider Winner's question: "Do artifacts have politics?" The academic textbook is a clearly political artifact and although computers have often been seen as a liberating technology, they have only helped to reinforce the political grip on knowledge and academic activity.  the technology that could help educate the world at nearly no cost already exists but in order to make something like that possible the world, and most notably, the American education system, needs to relinquish its grasp on the knowledge that realistically should belong to humanity as a whole.