Biopolitica e immunità nella costruzione sociale dell’identità

Abstract

Biopolitic and immunity in the social costruction of identity

The reflection proposes a started already about ten years ago on the meaning of the word immunity, found in medical science and metaphorically shifted in juridical, psychological, sociological and economic science. In a medical language, ‘immunity’ means a form of protection against an infectious disease, while in the juridical lexi-con it represents a sort of untouchability of someone on the part of a common law. Immunity therefore appears to be the opposite, the other side of the community. Both words come from the Latin term munus – that means ‘gift’ or ‘office’, ‘duty’ – but the one, communitas, in an affirmative sense and the other, immunitas, in a nega-tive sense. Therefore, if the community members are characterized by that donating obligation, immunity implies the exemption or departure from that condition. Two are basically the fundamental maintained thesis. The first one develops a path fol-lowing the need of exemption or protection. The second, instead, develops the idea that immunity, necessary to protect our lives, if brought over a certain threshold, ends up denying it.