After me, the deluge

a marxist critique of commodity seeds in contemporary capitalism

Abstract

Under capitalism, the seeds were transformed into commodities with value and use-value. This seed metamorphosis was identified by Marx, who pointed out that the germplasms would tend to enter the production process and be regularly commercialized. The Marxian prediction could be notably confirmed in the 20th century, with the dissemination of seeds sold by companies and the strong advertising appeal for its introduction in agriculture. The hybridization technique allowed business corporations to interfere in the seed variety behaviour, obtaining a decreasing agricultural income. Decades later, new interventions occurred, such as seed transgenesis and the gene editing, which are alterations in the genes to imprint characteristics that are unrelated to their germplasm. Hybridization and, above all, the genetically modified organisms are evidence of the real subsumption of nature to capital, keeping a close connection with the corporations' attempts to control the genetic codes of natural goods of planet. It is a situation which undoubtedly deepens the rift metabolic between the human and nature relation. This article analyses the commodity seed issue, identifying the main contradictions inherent in the capitalist control over a living organism, precious to (re)production of human life. The assumption is that the seed genetic manipulations are one of the pillars of the ongoing ecological crisis. Part of publications by Marx and other authors influenced by him solidify the theoretical basis of this reflection. We hope this text contributes to the necessary critique to the capitalist deluge which threatens us.