Michel Foucault’s concept of biopower, its operation and usefulness

a) Michel Foucault’s concept of biopower, its operation and usefulness: The concept of
Biopower was first coined by the French philosopher and social theorist Michel Foucault.
According to Foucault, it is a tactic of power to manage a large human group. The biopower
technique is characterized by its ability to regulate the entire population. It relates to human
body control through a human body 'anatomo-politics' and population biopolitics through
social disciplinary institutions. We can express the idea of biopower as a social constraint of
struggle and power, where the main features of the natural life of a human being are
interfered with in order to rationalize commands of authority over knowledge (Sayed, 2017).
It also deals with the sense of a human being of thinking about his own self and thinking as a
collective.
As per Foucault, after the 18th century, the model and practice of power had gone through a
transformation process, where the life of humans itself became a tool for utilizing power.
Foucault used the term ‘Biopower' to express the new methodology and technique of power
which was more engrossed onto the life of humans as self and as a collective (Salgues, 2016).
The idea of biopower can be considered as a double-edged sword. Firstly, it can be realized
as a mode of opposition, and it directly relates to power. With that, it has a connection with
different forms of knowledge. And at the time when both the variants, power and knowledge
come together, the concept of biopower becomes a reality. The classic understanding sees
power as a negative element, but in biopower, Foucault expressed power as a positive
element ("What is Biopower?” 2009).
The concept of biopower refers to a power which creates positive impacts on individual lives
as well as the lives of a large community. Through biopower, Foucault supported the idea of
the constitution of a new power form, which would differ greatly from the oppressive and
negative ‘jurido-discursive’ form of power. While speaking about biopower, we need to
understand another term coined by Foucault named, ‘Biopolitics’. Biopolitics is a political

form where human life and population are the main subjects. Biopower and biopolitics, both
are very much related to our social, economic and political life. Biopower operates human
lifestyle through many connections like security, territory, healthcare, market spending, etc.
Foucault named it as dispositif. This form of power works within society and in every level
of life. One interesting fact about biopower is that it never replaced the primitive form of
oppressive power. Instead of replacing, it co-operated with it and worked together (Adams,
2017). In his works, Foucault connected biopower with sexuality, race, and the technologies
which try to modify the biological phenomena of life. He also addressed the problem that
how individual life is being dominated by the modern technologies of science (Kristensen,
2013). Foucault’s concept of biopower also received criticism. Another researcher, Stoler,
criticized Foucault for avoiding regal dominion in his explanation of racism and sexuality
(Stoler, 2006).
Foucault’s theory of biopower can be very useful for medical anthropologists who deal with
the social directive of the human body. It is a methodical idea for the anthropology of the
human body because it sees the body as a form of suppression. It also highpoints how an
individual person is bound by his own obligation when they practice their daily routine.
Though many researchers have researched about how our social and cultural concepts drive
our physical routines and practices, a few of them used Foucault's biopower framework to
irradiate how both the society and individual are effected by such routines. Foucault told that
power did not come from outside or from any dominating group, it stays within us and comes
from within ourselves. We, as an individual and as a society, are the tool of power because it
entrenched its root in our practices, social interactions, and daily routines. So, basically,
power is everywhere. An important part of power is sexuality because it can control both
populations and individuals. Though the concept of biopower is quite interesting, it lacks
practical examples to strengthen its theoretical approach (Pylypa, 1998).