Eine Genealogie sorgender Sicherheit: Sorgeregime von der Antike bis zum Anthropozän

Abstract

This article proposes an alternative genealogy of security by exploring the nexus of security and care from antiquity to the present. In Greek and Roman antiquity, securitas – literally ‚carefree’ – designated a state of inner peace. With the rise of Christianity, pastoral power introduced a new regime of securing care. The pastoral care for the soul is supposed to secure salvation, whereas Christian Caritas established new forms of care for those in need (Fursorge). Modern biopolitical dispositives of security continued this tradition of care for others with the means of modern welfarism. Security dispositives organized new forms of social care (Sozialfursorge) and became increasingly concerned with the security of supply (Versorgungssicherheit) of vital infrastructural services. Since the second half of the twentieth century, a new form of care for the environment has emerged. The precautionary principle (Vorsorgeprinzip) seeks to prevent irreversible environmental change, whereas new environmental disposal and remediation practices (Entsorgung) cope with the residuals of industrial modernity. The genealogy shows the wide variety and historical flexibility of forms of security care. Conceptually the paper argues that, in contrast to sovereign and statist security technologies like the police and the military, securing care represents a positive, yet nevertheless problematic form of security. This provides new insights for a critique of security.