Beyond Health and Safety at Work: Reflections on Biopolitics in Occupational Health as an Important Component of International Health Security

Abstract

The general objective in this chapter is to reflect on health and safety at work based on biopolitics and biopower. The intention will be to clarify unequal processes in health and safety at work. In addition to occupational health, occupational health and safety actions aim to increase control over workers’ bodies, as well as reduce costs in the work process. The intention is still to establish a dialogue with the French philosopher Michel Foucault and with the Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben, both discussing the consequences of biopolitics and biopower in industrial society modern. The proposed reflections go beyond the benefits of occupational health and safety at work, as they aim to understand the centrality of life in industrial organizations. It is important and necessary to minimize the negative effects of inequality in health and safety at work. Only then will there be a reduction or elimination of health and safety risks at work.