Introduction to Biopower | Why Theory

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[[Why Theory]] episode on [[biopower]] and [[Foucault]].

Notes

• [[Biopower]] describes a power and subjugation over bodies by states
• [[Foucault]] believes that emancipation from power would come from an emphasis on bodies and pleasure
• For Foucault, society first had to invent the gay person before they could invent the straight person
• [[Desire]] is what is controlled by power, and this is expressed unconsciously
• For [[Foucault]], [[power]] ultimately comes from the [[law]]
  • [[Marx]] and Marxists believe that power has a material basis, that the law is just downstream of something else
• [[Deleuze]] and [[Foucault]] could be seen as “[[vitalist]]” philosophers