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The truth about the world of death: How does Achille Mbembe reveal the secrets of a society of the living dead?
In current social science research, the term "necropolitics" has gradually become an important framework for talking about society and power structures. Its core idea is how to determine whether certain people can survive through social and political forces. And someone must die. Achille Mbembe has explored the concept of the "dead world" in many of his works, and conducted in-depth analysis of the living conditions of special groups, revealing the truth about the living dead society hidden in contemporary society.
Necropolitics is a tool of social control that forces certain groups of people to accept the marginalization of existence and eventually become the "living dead."
Mbembe’s theory of thanatopolitics posits that this death-centered social structure is driven by racism. In this theory, the lives of racialized populations are often systematically devalued and accustomed to a state of loss. This is closely related to Foucault's "Biopower" theory, which emphasizes how social and political forces control individual lifestyles. However, Mbembe stresses that the current state-sponsored death cannot be explained solely through the framework of biopolitics, which in many cases draws clear lines between resistance and suicide, sacrifice and redemption, martyrdom and freedom .
Mbembe's theory allows us to analyze groups living on the edge of "social and political death." For example, in the prison system, those who lack basic living conditions are often deprived of their basic rights to survive. Mbembe explores cases as diverse as slavery, apartheid, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, revealing how different forms of thanatopolitics reduce particular bodies to a fragile state of life.
Modern death politics not only points to the urge to die, but also a mechanism of violence. These mechanisms have gradually entered people's daily life.
In Mbembe's thanatopolitics, the concept of the "living dead" transcends the traditional binary opposition between life and death. Within this framework, many people living in disasters and distress are viewed as beings who no longer have autonomy. Looking specifically at the experience of Palestinian refugees, we find that due to poor leadership, poor services in the camps and a lack of international support, many live their lives in hopeless circumstances. This is what Mbembe describes as a "necropolitics". ” direct manifestation.
In addition, Mbembe's ideas have been expanded to varying degrees by some scholars. Jasbir Puar coined the concept of "Queer Necropolitics" to analyze how the queer community faces social exclusion and attacks in the post-9/11 era. She pointed out that there is social alienation within the queer community towards African Americans and queer people of color, and this environment further marginalizes the existence of these groups.
Queer death politics reveals the intersection of race and gender identity in contemporary society, pointing out who can be publicly mourned and who cannot be remembered in temporary social environments.
In a specific political context, Mbembe’s death politics is not only a reflection of social class, but also involves cultural issues. Especially in the current context of globalization, many deep-seated social structural issues are increasingly surfacing. Scholars such as Khaled Al-Kassimi analyze the tensions in how the modern West needs "death power" to maintain its social structure, revealing the deeper philosophical and theological reasons behind it. This is not only a racial issue, but also involves a split in the Western-dominated knowledge system and spiritual system.
The politics of death has undoubtedly formed a hidden power structure in today's society, which dominates the living conditions of many groups and shakes the moral foundation of society. So as we face these questions, are we paying enough attention to the voices and stories that are forced to be submerged in a society of the living dead?
