Historical materialism, science and technology. Notes for a critical theory of science, from the Argentine green desert

Abstract

This article builds on some parts of the analysis presented by Marx in The Capital regarding the relationship between science, technology andcapitalism. Its main proposal is that the lessons made by the author regarding the organization of work under a capitalist regime can be extended to analyze the social organization of science and technology nowadays. Particularly, in virtue of the dehumanization that follows its development in a capitalist framework. With the aim of critically analyzing current conditions of scientific and technological production, this approach is reviewed in light of two problems. On the one hand, we recover underexplored aspects of Marxist thought and put them in dialogue with others works which have investigated the relationship between science, technology and society. On the other hand, we explore the articulation with the latin american scenario, particularly the argentine one, questioning the role played by scientific and technological knowledge in the current agricultural production scheme oriented towards agribusiness. Finally, we reflect on the
extension and depth of commodity-centered science and the need to promote critical approaches that question its assumptions and social and environmental implications.