BIOCAPITALISM AND THE POLITICS OF LIFE

ABSTRACT. This article introduces the term and recent debates concerning ‘biocapitalism’ linking it to developments in the ‘new biology’ on the one hand and Foucault’s concept of ‘biopower’ and the political economy of biocapitalism on the other. The article begins by surveying the spectacular growth of biotech industries in the U.S. before theorizing the notions ‘biocapital’ and biocapitalism’ and linking these concepts to Foucault’s analysis of neoliberalism. pp. 100–122

Keywords: biocapitalism, Foucault, biopower, neoliberalism, political economy