Bodies for Profit and Power

<p> Early dystopian science fiction like George Orwell's <I>1984</I> or Thea von Harbou's <I>Metropolis</I> show us bleak worlds where capitalism has no boundaries and has corrupted sovereign powers exploiting the lower classes and benefiting only a few at the top. Political laws and policies related to human life--or the biopolitical--devalue that life making humanity little more than expendable machines producing for capitalism and capitalism's focus on progress has made it a central concern in much of science fiction. Covering science fiction from the early 1900s to present this book examines the portrayal of dystopian capitalism and the biopolitical in works like <I>Brave New World</I> and <I>R.U.R.</I> among many others. </p>