The works of Foucault and Bentham have been regularly examined in isolation and in reference to Panopticon; or The Inspection House (1791), yet rarely has the relationship between the two philosophers been explored further. This study traces the full breadth of that relationship within the fields of sexuality, criminology, ethics, economics and governance. By drawing on a range of new source material, Brunon-Ernst presents a convincing reassessment of Foucault's concept of biopolitics and uncovers the neglected continuities between utilitarian thinking and Foucaultian theory. Not only does this study challenge our assumptions of Foucault and his intellectual formation, it offers a fascinating insight into the connections between eighteenth and twentieth-century intellectual thought.
