Where Are We Now?

A fascinating intervention on the encroaching state of biosecurity we are witnessing before our very eyes.

Agamben is right that our rulers will use every opportunity to consolidate their power, especially in times of crisis. That coronavirus is being exploited to strengthen mass-surveillance infrastructure is no secret.

Agamben’s book title emphasizes a vital but all too often unappreciated question. By way of answer, he worries that we are collectively and individually in a very dangerous place that, contrary to popular opinion, has little to do with a virus or pandemic.”

Agamben’s work is finding new relevance among those who are beginning to question not only the gravity of the virus but also the legitimacy of state responses to it. Agamben is certainly not a ‘virus denier’… but he does question the use of ‘pandemic’ to legitimate a certain shift in governing paradigms that will have far-reaching consequences … When sitting on a park bench with a friend is technically a crime, we need a voice like Agamben’s to remind us what we have lost among all the so-called ‘gains.’

An on-the-spot study of the link between power and knowledge.

Fear makes thinking harder, yet there is an urgent need to think and to question every aspect of our current situation. The philosopher, which Agamben truly embodies, is a figure that must be heeded.

What happens when health replaces salvation, biological life replaces eternal life, and social distancing displaces community? These are theological as well as politi­cal questions, and Agamben has correctly brought them to our attention.

Giorgio Agamben is a contemporary Italian philosopher and political theorist whose original works have gained critical acclaim and been translated into numerous languages. His most recent books are Creation and Anarchy: The Work or Art and the Religion of Capitalism and What Is Real? . As seen in the essays within Where Are We Now?: The Epidemic as Politics, Agamben is a frequent contributor to a variety of international newspapers and other media.