In the article "Right of Death and Power over Life", Michel Foucault describes how the shift of power has changed. Many years ago, sovereign entities had the right to choose everything about his subjects lives. He could even choose life and death for the people, called biopower. Biopower is literally having power over other bodies, "an explosion of numerous and diverse techniques for achieving the subjugations of bodies and the control of populations" (Foucault). Over the years, the rules of biopolitics have changed. It has come far from those sovereign entities could choose life and death, to only being allowed to choose death of a person in the event that another life is threatened, to today’s shift of punishment for a crime. Today, bio-power technology is about the investment of life, rather than the right to kill. Today, you are judged by a jury of your peers to create a punishment that fits a crime. According to Foucault, the reason for bio-power is to keep control over all people in a society. On the side of discipline, schools, camps, workshops, etc. are formed. In this aspect, prisons show what Foucault is explaining in his article. While inmates are incarcerated for a crime, they are forced to be watched at all times. This modifies behavior. If there is a thought of being caught for a criminal act because a more powerful presence is watching and can provide punishment, criminal acts diminish. This behavior modification allows inmates to then function in prison and then when released, function as a formative member of society.
Julie Bosman’s article in the New York Times "For Detained Youths, No Mental Health Overseer" is a slight stretch in relation to biopower, however, it does demonstrate how without proper people in a place of power over groups, extremes are taken. In this article, Bosman explains how schools in New York were physically detaining students with mental disabilities because of behavior problems. In any other circumstance where a mental health professional would have been present, this would not have happened because it is horrible to a student with a disability to be detained and made to feel like he/she has done something wrong. Students with mental disabilities cannot be detained like a criminal because in some instances, they do not know the act committed was wrong. Behavior modification using positive reinforcement would have helped with the student’s behavior problems. This demonstration of abused power shows a need for biopower over groups is necessary to enforce a balance and a set of rules and guidelines for every person. In my opinion, biopower is necessary for society to function as a normal productive society. More stringent rules could be in place so that these types of situations would not happen. This over-seeing, watched feeling give all of us a peaceful feeling of knowing that there will be a punishment for crimes committed.
Available Links
Critical Review of Michel Foucault's Article
Julie Bosman Article
Biopower
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“Students with mental disabilities cannot be detained like a criminal because in some instances, they do not know the act committed was wrong." Do psychopaths know the act that they have committed is wrong? I guess my issue with biopower is similar to the issue of elites in education who dictate the educational field. Who decides what is important or in this case what is sane and what is insane? How is the system enforced? Where does this power stem from? Is there a better way? I don’t know the answers to these questions but these are my thoughts on biopower. However I do believe that society needs common structure and rules that they can agree upon and they need to be regulated and people need to be held accountable. These rules are what forms and bind communities together. Without some level biopower there would be utter chaos.
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