The Biopolitical Embodiment of Work in the Era of Human Enhancement

Abstract

Human enhancement or the use of technoscientific and biomedical advances to improve human performance is a social phenomenon that has become increasingly significant in Western societies over the last 15 years or so, notably in the workplace. By focusing on the non-medical use of psychostimulants, and from a perspective that is both critical and exploratory, this article aims to show that human enhancement practices prefigure new forms of embodiment and interiorization of work that are contributing to a significant reconfiguration of biopower. By allowing individuals to technically push back their physical and mental limits, beyond what is considered ‘normal’, human enhancement is enabling a form of biopower that is focused on the individual and on the possibility of reconfiguring biological norms in themselves. Far from participating in workers’ emancipation, this biopolitical model of enhancement markedly points to the issues of intensifying work conditions and increased employee self-discipline.