Body Politic Metaphors

In the examination of any society, it is imperative to look at the role of the people and their function within— to consider the society as a whole. In similar fashion, the body politic metaphor is often used as a way describe the people of a nation, state, or society as a unified whole, where both the government and the people operate as a collective. The suggestion behind this metaphor being a healthy government should function like a healthy human body. Imbued in the use of the body politic metaphor are ideologies; norms; or, implicit values regarding certain types of bodies, systems, and institutions which are crucial to the proper function of a society— as well as an identification of what is not needed or, in need of correction within a society which is key to its proper function. In this identification, and further distinction, of what propagates health within a society and what poses a threat its health, the metaphor inevitably functions as a way to condemn, exclude, and to “other” specific members within a society, which are viewed as detrimental to the healthy state of the body politic. This use of the body politic metaphor often evokes fear and unrest within society, often inspiring action to be taken as a means to attain a common good. …show more content…
Further, what Michel Foucault describes in Discipline and Punish, as “docile bodies”, which he explains as bodies: “that may be subjected, used, transformed and improved” (136). Thus, the implementation of the body politic metaphor as a disciplinary technique expresses a normative conception of citizenship. Conversely, the body politic metaphor also functions as a way to condemn, exclude, and to “other” specific members which can be seen as potential threat to the very health of the body as a whole due to their failed normalization to societal norms and disciplinary