Biopolitical Subjectivities

The most influential biopolitical theorists pay great attention to the theme of subjectivity. This should come as no surprise, because one of the distinctive traits of biopolitical theory lies precisely in the fact that it focuses on the ways in which power relationships shape, rearrange, and influence living subjects. The aim of this paper is to present and assess the most important biopolitical theories of subjectivity, by concentrating on Foucault, Agamben, and Hardt and Negri. In doing so, I will demonstrate (1) that each account of biopolitics goes hand in hand with a specific understanding of the human subject, and (2) that each biopolitical theory of subjectivity is defined by both descriptive and normative aspects. The descriptive scope of the biopolitical theories of subjectivity comes to the fore when they try to spell out the intertwining of power and living subjects. Whereas Foucault frames the question of subjectivity in relation to the interplay of power and truth, Agamben examines the relationship between sovereign power and bare life, and Hardt and Negri analyze how the pervasive power of the Empire penetrates and redesigns the individual and collective consciousness of the living subjects. The normative element of those biopolitical theories of the subject becomes tangible when they envision possible ways in which human beings can elude, transcend, or reshape power relationships by transforming their subjectivities. In the late Foucault, this happens through a reconceptualization of the connection between truth-telling and subjectivity, while Agamben suggests the idea of “form-of-life” as an alternative to bare life. Hardt and Negri, too, propound a critique of biopower by outlining a new theory of subversive subjectivity. When reviewing Foucault’s, Agamben’s, and Hardt and Negri’s theories of subjectivity, I will point out their distinctive traits, their theoretical advantages, and their conceptual limitations. I will not confine myself to a critical assessment of their ideas, but I will also suggest an alternative biopolitical account of subjectivity, by underlining the great theoretical potential of the concept of lifestyle, which will ultimately form the core of my own theory of biopower.