How political power increasingly operates through the management and optimization of human life
Imagine a world where governments don't just manage territories and economies, but actively regulate the very biological processes of their citizens—their health, reproduction, and even their genetic makeup.
COVID-19 revealed unprecedented government interventions into personal lives through vaccine mandates and lockdown measures.
From public health policies to digital surveillance, biopolitics represents a fundamental shift in how power operates.
Governments worldwide implemented policies that would have been politically unthinkable just months before 9 . Giorgio Agamben's concept of the "state of exception" became particularly relevant as governments suspended normal legal protections 1 9 .
The pandemic accelerated integration of digital technologies into biopolitical governance through contact tracing apps and digital vaccine certificates 9 .
| Intervention Type | Examples | Biopolitical Function |
|---|---|---|
| Movement Control | Lockdowns, Curfews, Travel restrictions | Regulation of bodily movement and aggregation |
| Medical Surveillance | Vaccine passports, Testing requirements | Monitoring and controlling health status |
| Public Communication | Mask mandates, Social distancing guidelines | Normalizing new bodily behaviors |
| Economic Measures | Business closures, Essential worker designations | Determining which lives and livelihoods are prioritized |
Researchers conducted systematic analysis comparing how different diseases are framed, funded, and addressed 2 . The study examined:
The research compared two representative cases:
COVID-19
(Infectious)
Type 2 Diabetes
(Chronic)
| Research Phase | Methodology | Key Metrics | Findings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Risk Assessment | Statistical analysis of mortality and economic impact | Years of life lost, Productivity impact | Infectious diseases framed as acute threats despite lower mortality |
| Intervention Analysis | Comparative policy review | Prevention budgets, Treatment access | Disproportionate resources toward infectious diseases |
| Funding Analysis | Tracking health expenditures | Research funding, International aid | Chronic diseases systematically underfunded |
The study concluded that health prioritization operates as "future-oriented economic optimization" based on risk-and-responsibility calculus 2
Examining how language creates "regimes of truth" that shape perceptions of health and risk
Tracking population-level metrics that form the basis of biopolitical intervention
Tracing the development of biopolitical institutions and practices
Examining how laws create categories of inclusion and exclusion
Investigating how physical spaces are organized to control populations
CRISPR and gene editing technologies enabling unprecedented manipulation of human biology
AI systems mediating life-and-death decisions in healthcare and military applications 3
Environmental crises creating new categories of "climate refugees" 3
"Foucault formulated his theory of biopolitics in the context of what he called 'the power to kill life itself'—referring to technologies that threaten the very survival of the species"
Agamben's concept of "form-of-life" points toward a positive biopolitics where life cannot be separated from its form 1 . Contemporary social movements increasingly organize around biological issues, suggesting new forms of political agency 3 .
These movements represent what Foucault called "counter-conducts"—resistance to biopolitical management through alternative practices of life and community.
Biopolitics is far more than an abstract philosophical concept—it's the fundamental logic through which contemporary power operates. From pandemic response to healthcare prioritization and emerging genetic technologies, the management of biological life has become the primary terrain of political struggle in the 21st century.
Understanding biopolitics provides us with crucial tools for recognizing how appeals to "public health" or "national security" can legitimate unprecedented intrusions into private life and reveal the hidden calculations that determine which lives are valued and protected.