Giorgio Agamben’s Critique of the Covid-19 Response has Little to Do with Biopolitics

Abstract

Giorgio Agamben claims that the aggressive coronavirus response in Italy turned the nation’s entire population into formless bare life, which was cast out from meaningful human existence through a sovereign exception. This widely criticised argument appears to stem from Agamben’s radical reinterpretation of biopolitics, a concept popularised by Michel Foucault. Although Agamben is often considered as the second most famous authority on the topic, some have begun to question whether his reinterpretation can operate within the framework set by his predecessor who defines the notion primarily through its life affirming and optimising effects. This has led to an unclear and contested definition of biopolitics, which hinders the notion’s usage as an analytical tool. Agamben’s statements on the pandemic must face similar scrutiny. According to him, life was not optimised during the pandemic. Therefore, Agamben’s critique on the coronavirus response has little to do with the Foucauldian notion of biopolitics, which offers a much sounder way of analysing the Covid crisis.