privatized utilities and food supply chains = biopower? when i think of like, deloitte etc. being handed the keys to testing centers with the goal being optimization of process and resources

biopower = power that exhibits a "positive" influence on life, in contrast to the negative influence of the sovereign power in eras previous. negative in the v literal sense of negation - biopower is "make live and let die" versus the king's right to "make die and let live"

biopower functions primarily through administrative functions and the concept of "expertise"; traditionally foucault has located this in relation to the concept of public health & its development

but the privatization of health services in neoliberalism has i think resulted in capital, not the state, being the most active in deployment of biopower?

but on top of that like, capital has redefined expertise and efficiency. i blabbed the other day about expertise having been rendered an "empty" word bc of the devaluation of labor that goes into developing expertise -

so now a firm like deloitte is considered sufficiently expert to, for example, run a testing center (the alternative being a public health testing center w committed resources i imagine). except, hmm, it's not going so great https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/23/hospitals-sound-alarm-over-privately-run-test-centre-in-surrey

so i guess the salient thing is recognition of finance capital as a bigger agent of biopower than the state in the pandemic, but also i was thinking about finance capital's assumption of expertise in efficiency and how it relates to the dissolution of union power!

if we assume that the strategic consulting firm is one of the like, Final Forms of finance capital's investment aims (puts on tin hat) imagine, a company that profits from propping up other companies, which will probably fail anyway and get eaten by private equity

then the impact of finance capital on labor can also be observed in terms of like. how trimming labor power wherever possible (i.e. dissolving union power but also encouraging firms to adapt austerity measures - how can we do more w fewer workers) -

- has also better positioned finance capital & its Buddy Firms to deploy biopower, i.e. in the co-optation of health services.

this thread has been my adderall AM reach. i'll have to think abt this more

@HKesvani @raaleh yall should write about deloitte tripping over its dick with those testing centers is basically how i feel. have a good day