Merz, S. and Williams, R.G. (2018) ‘We all have a responsibility to each other’: valuing racialised bodies in the neoliberal bioeconomy. New Political Economy, 23 (5). pp. 560-573. ISSN 1356-3467
Abstract
In neoliberalism, human tissue has been targeted as a novel source for the extraction of surplus value. Entire new markets for human biomaterials such as reproductive tissue, organs and clinical data have emerged. Commercial attention has also turned to ethnic and racial minorities, resulting in myriad products and services specifically developed for them. In this paper, we focus on this market interest in racialised tissue by exploring two contested empirical examples: clinical trials for pharmaceuticals in the United States and stem cell transplantation in the United Kingdom. Both examples use racial taxonomies as useful tools in discerning human biological difference to draw conclusions about the economic potential of donors’ and participants’ genetic constitutions. We will show, first, how they do so by appealing to racialised minorities’ sense of responsibility toward ‘their’ communities, not only actively buttressing the conflation of the social and biological registers of human variation but also demonstrating neoliberalism’s mobilisation of discourses of community. However, while the inclusion of racialised minorities is hoped to bring economic benefits, it also aims to work towards the beneficent ends of addressing racial inequalities in healthcare provision. Drawing on debates in Science and Technology Studies, we argue, second, that in our examples, economic, social and cultural values cannot be disentangled. This compels us to complement narratives of the commodification of racialised difference in neoliberal (consumer) culture, and focus on the intersections between different values pertaining simultaneously to economic and ethical realms. Ultimately though, we find that whilst important work is being done to ameliorate racial inequities, the broader socio-economic and political inequalities minority communities face go unaddressed, likely precluding the realisation of bioscience’s promise of health equality.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in New Political Economy. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | race; neoliberalism; science and technology studies; clinical trials; stem cell donation |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Sociological Studies (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 30 Nov 2017 16:22 |
Last Modified: | 15 Mar 2024 16:32 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Taylor & Francis |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/13563467.2017.1417368 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:124680 |