The paper develops an interpretation of neoliberalism through the analysis of the concept of «human capital». Following Michel Foucault’s lectures on La naissance de la biopolitique, in order to put the matter in a clearer historical perspective, in the first part of the paper I explain the basic principles of classical political economy and the biopolitical role of the state in traditional liberal thinking. In the second part I analyse neoliberalism. The theory of «human capital», in particular, let me argue that neoliberalism is not only an economic view, but a theory that claims to explain every kind of human behaviour. Moreover, it emerges that this theory is rooted in a biological interpretation of human nature. In the last part, through the analysis of some historical examples, I examine some consequences of neoliberal biopower. In details, I clarify the new role of the state in such a system of power and the neoliberal strategy to manage human behaviour.
