Social Inequalities - Necropolitics

Social Inequalities ANTH 2301 Necropolitics Through his idea of necropolitics, Cameroonian philosopher and political theorist Achille Mbembe has significantly enlarged the discourse on power relations. Necropolitics explores the complex and frequently evil ways in which governments control life and death, building on Michel Foucault's idea of biopolitics. Foucault's biopolitics focuses on how states control the biological existence of its citizens and addresses the governance of populations through the management of life, health, and bodies. Mbembe, on the other hand, goes a step further by investigating the ways in which political power expands its domain of influence to decide which lives are valued and which are disposable. This power emphasises a value hierarchy for humans imposed by political systems since it encompasses not just control over life but also the terrifying ability to determine who may live and who must die. This harsh reality is put into perspective by Mbembe, who claims that the essence of necropolitics is the ability to decide "who matters and who does not, who is disposable and who is not" (Mbembe, 2003, p. 27). Decisions made by governments and officials under necropolitical regimes sometimes have life-and-death consequences. These choices have a clear impact on a number of areas, including healthcare access, tactics used by police enforcement, and general social and economic policy. The distribution of resources, such as life-saving medical technology, is one important setting in which necropolitics occurs. Policies that deny access to healthcare to specific groups subtly imply that some lives are more valued than others. Public health emergencies like the COVID-19 epidemic make these choices brutally apparent. People of colour and other marginalised populations frequently found themselves at the bottom of the priority list when it came to accessing protection resources and medical treatment in many regions of the world. This discrepancy reflects deeply ingrained necropolitical assessments about the value of various lives rather than being the result of a simple error. Necropolitics is also visible in the fields of criminal justice and law enforcement. Black communities in particular are disproportionately targeted by policing methods that subject them to greater levels of brutality, monitoring, and incarceration. Black people's high incarceration rates as a result of this overpolicing are clear examples of how necropolitics works to make some groups expendable. Black people's treatment in the criminal justice system, from arrest to incarceration, is a reflection of how society views their worth and position in society. Necropolitical practices are evident in the high-profile instances of police violence and the institutionalised racism that results in the disproportionate number of Black persons killed by law enforcement. These incidents point to a larger cultural and political attitude that believes Black lives are not as valuable as other lives. The United States' acknowledgment of and protest against contemporary necropolitics has given rise to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, which has gained significant traction. After Trayvon Martin's killer was found not guilty in 2013, the movement got started and has now expanded to become a global protest against systematic racism and brutality against Black people. BLM activists and sympathisers contend that necropolitics is directly responsible for the widespread and frequently fatal prejudice that Black people experience. When the movement declares that "Black lives matter," it challenges the necropolitical logic that views Black lives as expendable. It focuses on an equitable treatment of all lives and demands a new rethinking of how Black people are regarded and treated in society. The urgency of addressing the laws and practices that support the devaluation and disposability of Black life is highlighted by this movement. The BLM movement's tenets are applicable to oppressed communities throughout the globe that endure comparable necropolitical treatment from their governments. State policies that systemically disadvantage people of colour have been challenged by grassroots groups motivated by BLM in nations including as South Africa, Brazil, and the United Kingdom. For example, in Brazil, the large numbers of police shootings in favelas where Black and Brown people live primarily draw attention to the state's necropolitical posture. Black lives continue to be devalued by economic and social inequality in South Africa, which is a legacy of apartheid. Likewise, the Windrush crisis in the United Kingdom revealed how immigration laws dehumanised and dispossessed Black British nationals. The BLM movement's worldwide expansion in each of these situations highlights a common understanding of the necropolitical factors at work as well as a shared demand for justice and equality. Therefore, a critical theoretical framework for comprehending current movements for racial justice and equality is provided by Achille Mbembe's idea of necropolitics. It sheds light on the ways in which state policies and practices that dehumanise and marginalise particular communities are used to control who lives and dies. By opposing these necropolitical systems, the BLM movement aims to uphold the intrinsic value of Black lives and demand that everyone be treated with respect and dignity in society. This movement calls for the structural and systemic changes necessary to undermine the necropolitical environment, rather than only denouncing isolated incidents of violence or prejudice. BLM seeks to change the political and social environments by taking on the necropolitical power that views Black lives as expendable and promoting a society in which all lives are valued equally. In order to guarantee that the future is characterised by justice, equality, and the understanding of our common humanity, this fight is continual and essential.