Biopolitics and Duopolies

Foucault's notion of the biopolitical traces the evolution from the sovereign state to alternative forms of control, different techniques of domination—not reducible to state domination—and resistance. Of great interest in this development, particularly within the context of so-called "globalization," are Foucault's comments on race: Foucault suggests that the race struggle precedes even the class struggle, and that racism is but a by-product of the former. This article, via Society Must Be Defended, examines these matters in the light of other Foucauldian concepts such as control society, governmentality, and the population.