Applying the Concept of Bipower to Chinas One Child Policy

Michel Foucault was a French philosopher and one of the most influential social theorists of the second half of the twentieth century. He was born on the 15th of October 1936 and passed away on the 25th June 1984. His theories addressed the relationship between power and knowledge, and how they are used as a form of social control. His analysis breaks the concept of power apart, and his theory explains differences in various modes of power. In his study the History of Sexuality, he explores in the firth volume called Right of Death and Power over Life the triangle of power: (I) sovereign power; (II) disciplinary power; and (III) biopower. In this essay I will describe the relationship between each power and apply the concept of biopower to China’s one child Policy. First what is Biopower? Well according to Foucault, biopower is a technology of power, which is a way of managing and controlling entire populations. Biopower led to the emergence of the modern nation state and capitalism. Foucault describes it as an explosion of numerous and diverse techniques for achieving the subjugations of bodies and the control of populations† (Foucault 140). The primary and most important goal of biopower is life. The government goal is to secure and improve people’s lives. Power is exercised exclusively over life, and is exercised either to foster life or to disallow it. Biopower according to Foucault is a power that â€Å"exerts a positive influence on life, that endeavours to