Neoliberal biopolitics: beyond laissez faire

Abstract

The main characteristic of the neoliberal project is not the particular economic policy based fundamentally on the freedom of the market, as strongly suggested by an important part of the specialized literature. On the contrary, if we approach reality from Foucault's point of view, the truly transcendental in neoliberalism is rather its realization as “normative reason”. This affirmed Foucault when suggesting that, in summary, the neoliberal project is the result of interventionist crisis after the Second World War. This means that Neoliberalism manifests itself rather in the production of certain life forms than in its eventual destruction. Thereby it spreads specifically economic values, practices, calculations and evaluations to each aspect of life itself.