Michel Foucault’s article, “Society Must be Defended,” explores the relationship between power, knowledge, and society through an analysis of the mechanisms and strategies of power deployed in modern societies. These lectures mark a crucial stage in Foucault’s development of his theory of power and his genealogical method. Foucault begins by examining the emergence of modern forms of power, particularly focusing on the shift from sovereign power to biopower and the disciplinary mechanisms that underpin it. He states “Beneath that great absolute power, beneath the dramatic and somber absolute power that was the power of sovereignty, and which consisted in the power to take life, we now have the emergence, with this technology of biopower, of this technology of power over “the” population as such, over men insofar as they are living beings. It is continuous, scientific, and it is the power to make live. Sovereignty took life and let live. And now we have the emergence of a power that I would call the power of regularization, and it, in contrast, consists in making live and letting die.” (Pg. 1445). He argues that power operates not only through overt repression but also through the regulation and control of populations, institutions, and knowledge production. Central to Foucault’s analysis is the concept of “biopower,” which refers to the regulation of populations and individuals through techniques aimed at maximizing life and controlling bodies. He traces the historical development of biopower, exploring its emergence in the context of modern states and the rise of disciplinary institutions such as prisons, schools, and hospitals. Throughout the lectures, Foucault emphasizes the interconnectedness of power and knowledge, highlighting how systems of knowledge production serve to reinforce and perpetuate existing power structures. He examines the role of various discourses, including medicine, criminology, and political theory, in shaping our understanding of society and legitimizing forms of power. Moreover, Foucault explores the ways in which resistance and struggle are intertwined with mechanisms of power. He argues that power is not rigid or unidirectional but is constantly contested and negotiated by individuals and social groups. “Society Must be Defended” offers a rich and complex analysis of power dynamics in modern societies, challenging traditional notions of power and offering new insights into the ways in which power operates at both macro and micro levels. Foucault’s article invites readers to critically interrogate the relationship between power, knowledge, and social order, opening up new avenues for understanding and resistance.

The interesting ideas of Fanon and what he thought was in the essay starts with stereotypes with both colors whites and black people. The black subject themselves as negor’s. Fanon interacts as “In particular, Fanon tells of his own struggle to make sense of the white world and to address it on its own rationalist terms, only to be rejected on the basis of his race and driven back by white prejudice to an antirations, primitivist stance. Then, realizing that such primitivism was taken by whites as simply verifying their own stereotypical attitudes toward blacks, Fanon began to explore the cultural achievements of African civilization, finally achieving a dialectical resolution between Western rationalism and Africanist primitivism”(1351). The strategies that identify the problems that Fanon does as he said “growing bolder, I jostled him and told him point-blank, “Get used to me, I am not getting used to anyone.” I shouted my laughter to the stars”(1355).  According to Fanon he mentions that “colonial domination, because it is total and tends to oversimplify, very soon manages to disrupt in spectacular fashion the cultural life of a conquered people. This cultural obliteration is made possible by the negation of national reality, by new legal relations introduced by occupying power, by the banishment of the natives and their customs to outlying districts by colonial society, by expropriation, and by the systematic enslaving of men and women. The essay ends with “I feel in myself a soul as immense as the world, truly a soul as deep as the deepest of rivers, my chest has the power to expand without limit. I am a master and I am advised to adopt the humility of the cripple. Yesterday, awakening to the world, I saw the sky turn upon itself utterly and wholly. I wanted to rise, but the disemboweled silence fell back upon me, its wings praralyzes. Without responsibility, straddling Nothingness and Infinity, I began to weep” (1360). The new changes “on the ground” and the culture changes that Fanon mentions is that “After national free: dom has been obtained in these conditions, there is no such painful cultural indecision which is found in certain countries which are newly indepen-dent, because the nation by its manner of coming into being and in the terms of its existence exerts a fundamental influence over culture. A nation which is born of the people’s concerted action and which embodies the real aspirations of the people while changing the state cannot exist save in the expression of exceptionally rich forms of culture”(pg,1366). 

“Society Must Be Defended” was my personal introduction to Foucault. I had very little knowledge of him before this class, but I believe that I have emerged from our simple discussion with a basic understanding of his principles and arguments in his essay. What struck me most about “Society” is his theory of biopolitics and the “new” right of “make live and let die” (1441). This new guiding principle of society, since its initial development in the 18th century, is the result of innovation and modernization of medicine, government, and all other forms of technology. As society develops these innovations, the more people will be born and people will be less vulnerable to disease and illness. Biopower is enforced to man-as-species, meaning that this authority is imposed over individuals if they are a part of a collective. Through “massifying” man does biopower get its strength. Take, for example, the anti-LGBT rhetoric and regulation pushed by the United States government (e.g. men who have sex with men cannot donate blood, gender-affirming care, etc.) and examine it through Foucault’s theory. I would argue that a large portion of these acts stem from the fact that growing acceptance of gender and sexual exploration — alongside the cost of living — is leading to fewer people having children and producing the next generation of Americans. As I understand Foucault, his theory of biopower is applicable since the hegemony of the traditional nuclear family dynamic that promoted reproduction not just as an achievement in life, but also as one’s duty to their country and their values. When this hegemony is threatened through individualization, the masses are cut off from “life” and are essentially left to die. 

What I find to be so fascinating about this argument is how it takes place. Rather innocuous sounding at first, censuses, mortality rates, birth rates, abilities and disabilities, all contribute to the creation of biopower. When humans are turned into data that can be manipulated, biopower rises as a serious threat to individualism. When the one-child policy was still active in China, it was to stop overpopulation. However, when the data showed that they were on a path to extinction with the lower birth rates, that policy was reversed and tax breaks and other financial benefits were offered to the people. The danger of biopower is the separation of humanity. People become rats in a laboratory and are constantly monitored and exploited in the name of the future and the preservation of society. 

Through his study of “biopolitics” and “disciplinary” power, Michel Foucault illustrates how power functions in society. The primary differences between these two types of power are found in their methods, goals, and subjects of control. According to Foucault the first form, disciplinary power, is the careful control of people inside certain establishments like hospitals, jails, and schools. It is focused on using processes of monitoring, standardizing, and individualization to shape bodies, minds, and behaviors. The panopticon, a hypothetical prison design with a central observation tower that allows for continuous surveillance without the convicts knowing they are being observed, is one of the most famous examples of disciplinary power. Discipline authority works in this manner to shape and manage the person in restricted areas, encouraging compliance by strict regulations and hierarchical structures. However, Foucault’s concept of biopolitics moves the emphasis from controlling individual behavior to managing entire communities. This type of power encompasses wider societal issues including health, demography, and population well-being in addition to its influence within particular institutions.

Biopolitics itself is the study of population regulation, statistical analysis, and the application of laws intended to control society’s collective existence. Biopolitical tactics then focus on the health and vitality of entire populations rather than individual bodies and behaviors. An example of a biopolitical campaign would be theanti-smoking campaigns run in America. These campaigns use a variety of instruments, such as laws, educational initiatives, and public policies, to affect the general population’s health. Biopolitics is the study of population regulation, statistical analysis, and the application of laws intended to control society’s collective existence. When it comes to disciplinary authority, the focus is on the small scale, where organizations carefully control the behavior and identities of individuals. This is more so similar to a school setting where tight regulations, hierarchical structures, and surveillance tools are used to enforce disciplinary power. In addition to teaching, the aim is to mold each student’s conduct and thinking by enforcing discipline and conformity. With teachers acting as the watchers, schools have a panopticon-like atmosphere that functions as a form of disciplinary power. It is the constant observation that shapes people’s behavior and promotes compliance and self-regulation.

On the other hand, biopolitics addresses the health of entire populations by zooming out to the macro level. Campaigns for public health place more emphasis on the statistical patterns and demographics of smoking in society than they do on specific smokers. Policies are designed to affect the way people behave as a group and their overall health; this is a change from carefully controlling people inside of institutions to managing the health of society as a whole. A more expansive and abstract type of power is embodied by biopolitics, when governance transcends the boundaries of particular institutions to include the more general aspects of a population. The study of biopolitics and disciplinary authority by Foucault offers a theoretical framework for us to comprehend how power systems have evolved into contemporary society. It reveals how our idea of government is evolving from a narrowly focused, institution-centric system to one that is more broadly focused and population-oriented. With the use of these ideas, Foucault challenges us to consider the complexities of power critically, showing the ways that we manage the well-being and health of entire populations within larger societies as well as the lives of individuals inside institutions.