ABSTRACT

This chapter provides a basic overview of elements that are important in the analysis or deconstruction of the organism metaphor. It describes how a foreign identity or sense of “alienness” is imposed upon the population that is targeted for control or restriction, much as disease arises from outside the body. It also delineates the various modes by which those suspect group members are diagnosed and marked, as well as forms of surveillance that are put in place to track them. As noted, various public as well as private institutions benefit from schemes of diagnostics and surveillance in the name of protecting the public from contamination by target groups. Power and control are obviously central features of this process, as identities are imposed on such persons with the imprimatur of the government. These imposed identities, moreover, are often viewed as essential and inherent qualities of the individual that cannot be changed.