We announce this issue during an unprecedented attack by the current US administration on the largest public research funds in the world. The AI boom is the latest in a series of economic shocks further pushing the academy towards private interests. We are in the midst of ongoing imperialist war and genocide that are inextricable from the politics of science and technology, and stumbling recovery efforts from a pandemic that left the world more dependent on, and yet less trusting of, public health institutions. Under such conditions, a discussion of political economy in science is timely. However, we must avoid the pitfalls of defending a system that enforces inequities and exploitative practices, some of which we scientists are dependent on, especially in the Global North. A radical critique of the political economy of science and knowledge production is not enough by itself; the goal is to change such modes of production. Such a goal requires escaping the structures that make a world outside of capitalism seem unimaginable, and envisioning what scientific research and knowledge production could look like from an anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist lens. It is our hope that this issue will present not only the necessary critique of the current system, but also horizons to build towards.