ABSTRACT

This paper analyses the reframing of German seed as a market good. In the late nineteenth century, seed was sold on dedicated transregional markets for the first time. These emerging seed markets faced several problems, among them unpredictability, ill-adapted products, and the proliferation of reproduced seed on the market, which made it difficult for breeders to alienate their product and for farmers to appropriate it. In this article, I explore how seed was turned into a ‘quasi-commodity,’ a market good not fully alienated yet completely appropriated. Highlighting the challenge that seed posed for the passage of property in market transactions, the article seeks to answer what is wrong with the current excess of property rights in markets for consumer goods.

摘要

本文分析了将德国种子重新定型为市场商品的情况。在19世纪后期，种子首次在专门的跨区域市场上出售。这些新兴的种子市场面临着几个问题，其中包括不可预测性，产品不适应以及市场上繁殖的种子的扩散，这使育种者难以转让其产品，而农民则难以使用该产品。在本文中，我将探讨如何将种子转变为“准商品”，即一种尚未完全疏远但完全被挪用的市场商品。文章强调了种子在市场交易中为财产的通过带来的挑战，该文章试图回答消费品市场当前产权过剩的问题。