THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF THE “BODY-INSTITUTION” IN 21ST CENTURY CAPITALISM: A REGULATORY THEORY APPROACH

Abstract

This article aims to understand the extent to which the body can be endorsed the status of an institution in today’s capitalism, the so-called “capitalism of vulnerabilities”. Resting on the economics current of the Regulation Theory (RT), we forge the concept of “bodyinstitution” to highlight how the body is integrated into the functioning of a regime of accumulation and of a mode of regulation integral to capitalism. In the age of what we call the “capitalism of vulnerabilities”, the concept of “body-institution” paves the way of new perspectives of research to understand the actual individuals’ relationship to their body.