It is common knowledge that scientific and technological developments have brought many changes to human civilization; with the way that we do things, interact with one another, and ultimately live our lives. The sociological aspects of science and technology and its impact on individuals and societies is a crucial focal point in order to demystify the underlying causes. Only then may we become capable of monitoring and regulating the application or implementation of scientific and technological developments and its supposed advantages for people, rather than allowing for the continuance of sordid manipulation used in capitalist politics. Large businesses are the ones funding most research and development activities, and therefore, they are in a position to control the course of modernization and the impact of innovations on society. For example, large business owners funded the developments in the computing field and consequently, individuals are no longer able to fully function without the use of a computer. As an offspring of the market orientated political system it is only natural for science and technology to create opportunities for the emergence of new commodities. These commodities however, may take the shape or form of many different things that may or may not be ethical, morally acceptable, or even legal.
In the field of medical science for example, technological advancement has crossed so many boundaries and, are leaping further into a realm in which they can almost build an entire human being from scratch. For now, it seems they can be awarded for having perfected many surgical procedures and discovered numerous cures. The subject I wish to address here regards some of the social implications of a certain medical procedure know as organ transplants. As a side effect of advanced technology and medical sciences combined, human organs are rapidly becoming a commercial property. A Marxist approach on this issue reveals many similar trends of his critique on capitalism. In this tradition, I argue that human organs are rapidly being transformed into simple commodities that can be exchanged on the market with a similar sort of ‘use value’ and ‘exchange value’ as any other product that is of any interest to human kind. However, the exchange value may prove to be phenomenally disproportioned to the use value in the case of human organs. Furthermore, it is possible to speculate that the use and exchange values of human organs may be severely compromised in a world with such variant socio-economic patterns. Who, or which powers, or what circumstances will ultimately determine the economic value of our bodies? The seriousness of this matter becomes clear as we find that people from poorer economic conditions are being compelled to sell their organs for a little extra money, while other profitable outlets are being furnished for network of criminal activity in which human organs are proving to be a fast and easy means to wealth. I also argue that labour in the Marxist context has now taken on new meaning in the sense that labour was considered to be the result of effort, time and work put in by an individual in order to earn money; this may be seen as an indirect part of oneself. Now, it is more so that labour can be a direct part of oneself that an individual can give in order to make money. It appears that ‘good health’ is something that can now be bought in the market place. The ever increasing use of medical technologies is not necessarily a result of technically safer products or more efficacious techniques, but a direct outcome of the commodification process of capitalism.
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