China Social Science Review

No.2, 2020

Does Marx’s Critique of Capital Contain a Critique of Bio-Politics? A Discussion with Wang Qingfeng

(Abstract)

Gao Yunyong

In recent years, research on Marxist philosophy in China has paid greater attention to the theme of bio-politics. Some young scholars who have carried out in-depth exploration of the relationship between Marx’s critique of capital and bio-politics regard the power of capital as being both economic and power. However, whether the power of capital can be understood as Foucault’s bio-power is still controversial. Whether we reinterpret Capital from the perspective of “bio-politics” or re-explore the ideological resources of body discipline and population regulation in Capital to create a bio-politics research paradigm, we need reasonable answers and full analysis.