Neoliberalny panoptykon biopolityki – pomiędzy ekspansją i społeczną terapią
The Neoliberal Panopticon of Biopolitics – Between Expansion and Social Therapy

Summary/Abstract: Human enhancement technologies raise serious ethical questions about health practices no longer content simply to treat disease, but which now also propose to “optimize” human beings’ physical, cognitive and psychological abilities. In this article we undertake some conceptual clarification of the concepts of biopower and biopolitics and argue for their utility in contemporary analysis. Three decades of neoliberal policies have seriously reduced the welfare state: privatisations and cuts in public budgets have forced public agencies to downsize their activities, sometimes losing universality, effectiveness and quality of services. The pandemic has dramatically shown the price of such a neoliberal turn. Market globalisation creates health threats and is completely unable to respond to emergencies. Private health care is turning out to be largely irrelevant in facing the pandemic. The welfare state should not be considered a ‘cost’ for the private economic system. It would be a mistake to believe that, once the pandemic has passed, the economy could go back to ‘normal’. We need to rethink production and consumption considering health and environmental needs.

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