Governing to make us free: towards a theory of left governmentality

Theories of governmentality have shaped our understanding of power and rule in modern societies. A vast literature spans the humanities and social sciences, charting how ‘techniques of governance’ shape the choices and behaviours which are desirable and intelligible for free societies. But the majority of this literature is focused on liberal and neoliberal governance. How governmentality functions in the context of political projects which aspire to a radically more egalitarian and democratic society, economy, and politics, is a remarkable gap in the literature. However, in recent years, a handful of disparate interventions have begun to explore notions of ‘left governmentality’ and closely related ideas such as ‘positive biopolitics’. This article is intended to encourage the development of this nascent strand of governmentality research. It argues that previous inattention is the product of historical contingency and path dependency: governmentality is no less central to left governance than to any other form of modern governance. And, despite disciplinary, geographical, and empirical divergences, recent interventions repeat common themes: they should be understood as an emergent literature which has begun to sketch out the contours of a new research agenda. The article also suggests how emergent scholarship might be developed theoretically.