Bio-politics

 Another form of biopower is Bio-politics, which moves beyond individual bodies. It deals with the establishment of norms, which are used to standardise behaviour for defining acceptable behaviour. Any deviation from those norms invites suffering since the suffering is justified and validated to let the bodies suffer individually and collectively. This leads to the homogenisation of control of all bodies and not just individual bodies. Even death of a segment of the population could be attributed to their deviation from the norm. This would validate in the eyes of the public that those who deviate from the established norms deserve to suffer or face whatever misfortune comes their way. Foucault also discusses the transition from anatamo-politics to bio-politics while explaining old and new sovereignty respectively. In old sovereignty control is achieved by the power of sword and other such weapons while in the new sovereignty control is achieved through various technologies of surveillance. He also traces the roots of bio-politics in the idea of liberalism which radiates from economics and spreads to all aspects of our lives. This way governance is decreased and self-regulation is increased. Some more examples of bio-politics could be found in the arbitrary standards of health which lead to shaming of bodies which don’t adhere to those standards as can be seen in fat-shaming or racial discrimination. Another example could be attributing the problem of AIDS mostly to gays as they do not seem be following the set norm and expectations of sexual behaviour. Dealing with AIDS at the individual level would come under anatamo-politics but attributing the occurrence of AIDS and deaths caused by it to a particular sexual preference which is seen in opposition to the more acceptable choices and behavioural practices, would amount to bio-politics.

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