In a world tainted by the cult of perfect health and the biomedicalization of identity, the value
attributed to individual life appears to come increasingly from individuals’ capacity to maintain—
and even enhance—their biological “capital.” The valorization of “life itself” in the bioeconomy
fosters a representation of the body as capital. Stemming from the notion of human capital
developed by Gary Becker, the conception of the body as capital is dissociable from the
bioeconomy, the ultimate stage of globalized capitalism. Not only does the bioeconomy model
dictate all neoliberal politics in innovation and research implemented since the early 1980s, it is
redefining the very foundations of citizenship. Maintaining and extending health is therefore
seen as an investment that increases individuals’ social “value.” This concept of the body as
capital is evident in the development of private umbilical cord blood stem cell banks that
encourage parents to invest in their children’s biological capital. It also shows up in the
phenomenon of medical tourism. This article presents a theoretical analysis of the concept of
body capital via two phenomena: the development of private cord blood banks, medical tourism,
and translational medicine.In a world tainted by the cult of perfect health and the biomedicalization of identity, the value
attributed to individual life appears to come increasingly from individuals’ capacity to maintain—
and even enhance—their biological “capital.” The valorization of “life itself” in the bioeconomy
fosters a representation of the body as capital. Stemming from the notion of human capital
developed by Gary Becker, the conception of the body as capital is dissociable from the
bioeconomy, the ultimate stage of globalized capitalism. Not only does the bioeconomy model
dictate all neoliberal politics in innovation and research implemented since the early 1980s, it is
redefining the very foundations of citizenship. Maintaining and extending health is therefore
seen as an investment that increases individuals’ social “value.” This concept of the body as
capital is evident in the development of private umbilical cord blood stem cell banks that
encourage parents to invest in their children’s biological capital. It also shows up in the
phenomenon of medical tourism. This article presents a theoretical analysis of the concept of
body capital via two phenomena: the development of private cord blood banks, medical tourism,
and translational medicine.In a world tainted by the cult of perfect health and the biomedicalization of identity, the value
attributed to individual life appears to come increasingly from individuals’ capacity to maintain—
and even enhance—their biological “capital.” The valorization of “life itself” in the bioeconomy
fosters a representation of the body as capital. Stemming from the notion of human capital
developed by Gary Becker, the conception of the body as capital is dissociable from the
bioeconomy, the ultimate stage of globalized capitalism. Not only does the bioeconomy model
dictate all neoliberal politics in innovation and research implemented since the early 1980s, it is
redefining the very foundations of citizenship. Maintaining and extending health is therefore
seen as an investment that increases individuals’ social “value.” This concept of the body as
capital is evident in the development of private umbilical cord blood stem cell banks that
encourage parents to invest in their children’s biological capital. It also shows up in the
phenomenon of medical tourism. This article presents a theoretical analysis of the concept of
body capital via two phenomena: the development of private cord blood banks, medical tourism,
and translational medicine.
