Living Breathing Commodities

As most of you are probably aware, a number of scientists in partnership with the pharmaceutical company Novartis, and the great philanthropists and contributors to human well being known as Exxon Mobil, have created the worlds very first, self-replicating, artificial life form.

Using artificial DNA and a "blank" living cell they created a bacteria that has no living ancestor. While the importance of these discoveries is always hard to gage at the time of their inception, it has already been described as a technological breakthrough akin to splitting the atom. Here is an article from the economist that explains the discovery in some detail.

Ignoring the quite profound metaphysical implications a discovery of this nature possess (metaphysics is boring), the potential impact to society this technology represents is immense.

Additionally, as the advancement of bio-technology involves the creation of physical things, rather than the circulation of ideas/information, I believe that bio-technology has a greater potential to truly change the means of production and their accompanying social relations, than the Internet or other forms of information technology currently so much in vogue. If the hype is true, and it very well may not be, the creative/destructive potential of truly synthetic biology is staggering.

Ridiculously, the biggest fear I have regarding this discovery is its potential capacity for surplus absorption. Biological technology is capitalism's current best bet against a falling profit rate. With the potential for new markets, products, and profit generating enterprises represented by bio-technology enormous.

The patent application for the bacteria is already underway, and it seems obvious given who is funding the research, that the goal is not overall human well being but private profit and market creation. My absurd prediction is that in 15 years, we will discuss the deflating of the Bio-Tech bubble much the same way we currently discuss the Dot-com bubble or the Housing bubble.

In short, while amazing, a discovery of this nature provides further evidence of our need to organize, and work to wards a society where new technology is used to meet human need and not just further capitalist accumulation.