The Political Economy of Genetic Engineering

Abstract

The breakthrough of genetic engineering and the subsequentformation of biotechnology as a strategic technology of the future comes at a time when science has become an object ofpolitical struggle and neoliberalism has experienced an upturn and has become hegemonic. This article shows how neoliberalism has proven itself able to cope effectively with a variety of opposing arguments, above all environmentalist and ethical. The patterns of the social structuring of biotechnology are analysed in thefields of innovation, risk management, patenting, biodiversity, and bioethics. With regard to the political and ethical void of the neoliberal strategy of biotechnology release, observations are given as to how it has beenfilled with an effective ideology and aesthetic of technology. In thefinal analysis, perspectives beyond an authoritariatn or subaltern technological deterninism are argued for, especially with reference to concepts of sustainable development within the framework of global and local economies.