Making death through producing life: Necrovalue and the political economy of death

Abstract This article explores how advances in synthetic biology and genetic engineering transform the relationship between life and death under contemporary biocapitalism. Discussing two cases of synthetically produced mosquitoes designed to combat vector-borne diseases by targeting their own species, the article contends that these organisms function not only as (lively) commodities but also as metabolically working bodies. These mosquitoes, as the article shows, engage in a specific form of labor, termed ‘metabolic death work,’ which aims at the eradication of fellow members of their species, thereby generating a unique form of value, introduced as ‘necrovalue.’ Complementing the notion of ‘biovalue,’ the concept of necrovalue highlights how death is reimagined as a site of value production in molecular biology and beyond. By applying these concepts to the analysis of the two cases of synthetically produced organisms, this article shows how death enters the realm of the political economy in novel ways as capital gains full control over the metabolic and reproductive capacities of engineered life forms.