Biopower Theory: Literature & Language Essay

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Biopower Theory
Biopower is described as taking control over individual bodies and, by extension, population through linking the human body to structured knowledge. There are numerous power relations that target the human body making it tractable and conformable. It is composed of numerous and diverse techniques used in the current society to control the population. It plays a vital role in shaping how people think of themselves concerning population factors such as childbirth, diseases, health, and deaths.
According to Foucault, power is something that is built on knowledge and uses knowledge. On the other hand, power replicates knowledge by modeling it per its unknown intentions (Rainbow et al., 200). He argues that any organization can use power with a proper chain of command and that influence pervades every individual, population, or society. A sovereign power centralized the pre-modern society and involved complete control of the people by the sovereign authorities. The authorities were given the power to unite and coordinate the population. They exercised coercion on any individual who challenged them.
During the 17th century, there was a massive change of power from sovereign power to biopower. The transformation occurred because of the ever-growing population. Each State took much concern about caring for the growing population since sovereign authorities were not enough to control the whole community, which was growing fast. Foucault's biopower concept focused mainly on managing population and life (Rainbow et al., 205). It combined positive aspects of disciplinary power that runs, reproduces, and applies specific control and regulatory measures on the population and in particular births, reproduction, illness, death, work, grief or contentment of the person, private and family life psychological health and sexual practices.
Foucault later attached the biopower, a double meaning, and the bio-politics(Genel 45). He was so much concerned with how political power relates to the body. His later work on the history of sexuality describes several ways to train the body to be socially productive. Foucault argues that the body is a component that needs to be run in connection to populations' social and economic management strategies. The spread of biopower relates to sex and sexuality, thus understanding sex as an instinctual and biological process. The intense connection of the process to a person's identity leads to possible effects on that person's social and sexual behavior.
Based on his historical research findings in different communities, Foucault concludes that the sexuality concept, as it is dominant in modern society, is well thought out as the core manifestation of discipline qualifies it as an instrument of control (Genel 45). Simultaneously, the dialogue on the care for the population is characterized by observation and discipline procedures.
The key concepts of Foucault about biopower
Foucault defined power as productive as well as limiting. He claims that power and knowledge are dependent and that power is the function of expertise. As much as power limits, it also opens up several ways of thinking and workin...