Asset Form, Asset Boundary, and Assetization in Technoscientific Capitalism

• In Event: Turning (More) Things into Assets: Techno-economic TRANSformations

Abstract

What is an asset? How is an asset defined? What does this mean for asset valuation? All such questions are subject to contestation in the development of techno-economic practices, knowledges, and governance (e.g. valuation, accounting, corporate governance, etc.). This is especially the case in contemporary, technoscientific capitalism where there is an increasing emphasis on ‘rentiership’ as an accumulation strategy – here, rentiership is defined as the capture of profits from the ownership and control of assets as the result of their natural or artificial scarcity, productivity, and quality. As an example, this paper will look at the emergence and role of the asset form and asset boundary in technoscientific capitalism resulting from changing techno-economic knowledges (e.g. Systems of National Account) and techno-economic property regimes (e.g. global investment treaties).

Author

• Kean Birch, York University