I'm very grateful for having stumbled across Giorgio Agamben's writing last year. It was his remarkably concise essay on "Biosecurity and Politics" that helped me to articulate the dangers of the new biosecurity paradigm and, in a sense, led to my formulation of COVID-911. This slim edition (it could be read in a single extended sitting if you were motivated to do so) collects the English translations of Agamben's main writings and interviews about the current crisis. There were points during reading when I wondered if I should just highlight the entire book. Well worth your time if you are interested in the nexus of philosophy and politics in this everlasting "state of emergency." ~ James Corbett
Renowned Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben presents his fierce, passionate, and deeply personal commentaries regarding the 2020 health emergency as it played out in Italy and across the world. Alongside and beyond accusations, these texts reflect upon the great transformation affecting Western democracies. In the name of biosecurity and health, the model of bourgeois democracy—together with its rights, institutions, and constitutions—is surrendering everywhere to a new despotism where citizens accept unprecedented limitations to their freedoms.
