Who gives a damn about publishing in journals? With the internet anybody can publish anywhere. And if it's the truth then it's the truth. Anybody can seek and find the truth.
Peer-review is important. I know it is not working great, but it is working to some degree.
I think academic publishing is not in a good place right now and should be improved, but I don't personally see any problem with the concept. Thank you for your insights on the matter.
Academic knowledge is but a tiny fraction of the knowledge that is discovered every day. Most of it is far from the public eye, being discovered and applied in all different kind of workplaces all over the world. Maybe that knowledge is not "fancy" enough for the academically minded, but it is the knowledge that propels the world forward.