You ever get that weird feeling where you’re scrolling through a feed and it feels like the app knows you better than your own mother? Or maybe you’ve hit a 10:00 PM wall of exhaustion but still feel like you should be doing something "productive"—like a side hustle or learning a new language.
Honestly, that’s not just you being tired. It's the system working exactly how it's designed.
We’re living through a massive shift in how power actually functions. It’s no longer about a "Big Brother" figure threatening you with a baton or a prison cell. That’s old school. Today, power is much more polite. It's subtle. It uses "Like" buttons, personalized algorithms, and the constant pressure to "be your best self" to manage you from the inside out. Philosophers like Byung-Chul Han call this psychopolitics, and it’s basically the software update to the way the world is run.
From Bodies to Brains: The Death of Biopolitics
To understand where we are, we have to look at where we were.
Back in the day, Michel Foucault talked about biopolitics. This was power focused on the body. Think of factories, schools, and hospitals. These institutions were designed to discipline your physical self—making sure you showed up on time, sat in your seat, and stayed healthy enough to work the assembly line. It was all about "no" and "don't."
But neoliberalism—the flavor of capitalism we’ve been living in since roughly the late 70s—realized that telling people "no" creates resistance. It’s messy. It causes strikes.
So, it pivoted.
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Instead of disciplining the body, modern power started targeting the psyche. We moved from a society of "forbidden" to a society of "can." You can be anything. You can achieve everything. This is what Han calls the achievement society. In this world, we aren't "subjects" anymore; we’re "projects."
But here’s the kicker: being a "project" is exhausting. When you are your own boss, you are also your own slave-driver. There is no one else to blame when you fail, so you just exploit yourself harder. This is why we’re seeing an explosion of burnout, depression, and ADHD. It’s the mental fallout of a system that never lets you turn off.
Big Data: The New Technologies of Power
If psychopolitics is the strategy, then Big Data is the weapon.
We used to worry about the government watching us. Now, we pay for the privilege. We carry smartphones—Han literally calls them "digital rosaries"—and we confess everything to them. Our locations, our heart rates, our secret midnight searches for "how to fix a leaky faucet" or "is it normal to feel lonely."
This creates a massive pool of information that allows for algorithmic governance.
Basically, companies and political actors don't need to force you to do things. They just need to nudge you. By knowing your psychological profile better than you do, they can present "choices" that feel like your own, but are actually pre-calculated.
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- Micro-targeting: Political campaigns like the infamous Cambridge Analytica didn't just blast ads; they targeted specific personality types with fear or hope to swing votes without the voter even realizing they were being manipulated.
- The Transparency Trap: We’re told transparency is good for democracy. But Han argues that total transparency actually creates a "dictatorship of the same." When everyone is watched, everyone starts acting the same to avoid being the "weird" one. It kills genuine deviance and creativity.
- Sentiment Analysis: Algorithms now monitor the collective mood of the internet. If anger is spiking, the system feeds more anger to keep you engaged. Engagement is the only metric that matters to capital.
The Myth of Neoliberal Freedom
You’ve probably heard the phrase "be your own boss." It sounds great. Flexible hours! No one telling you what to wear!
But in the world of psychopolitics neoliberalism and new technologies of power, being your own boss often just means you're a freelancer with no health insurance who works 80 hours a week because the "platform" (Uber, Upwork, etc.) demands it.
The system has successfully convinced us that our exploitation is actually our freedom. We "choose" to work on vacation. We "choose" to track our sleep with rings and watches to optimize our performance for the next day.
Han points out that this is a "smart" power. It doesn't use the whip; it uses the "Like." It seduces instead of forbids. We are so busy "liking" and "sharing" and "optimizing" that we’ve lost the ability to simply be.
How to Fight Back (Without Throwing Your Phone in a Lake)
So, is it hopeless? Not quite. But the solution isn't just "digital detox" for a weekend. It requires a fundamental shift in how we see ourselves.
First, we have to recognize the ideology of positivity. We’re told that if we’re unhappy, we just need more mindfulness or a better morning routine. No. Sometimes you’re unhappy because the system is squeezing you dry. Acknowledging that your exhaustion is a political issue, not just a personal failure, is a massive first step.
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Second, we need to reclaim the "useless."
Neoliberalism hates things that don't have a price tag or a "productivity" output. Daydreaming, long-form contemplation, or just sitting in silence are radical acts of resistance in a world that wants every second of your attention monetized.
Actionable Insights for the Psychopolitical Age
If you want to protect your agency against these new technologies of power, start with these shifts:
- Embrace the "Analog" Gap: Purposely create spaces in your life that are invisible to the algorithm. No tracking, no posting, no data generation. This isn't just for privacy; it's to preserve your "inner life."
- Audit Your "Shoulds": Next time you feel guilty for not being productive, ask yourself: Who does this guilt serve? Usually, it's the internalized voice of a system that views you as a human resource rather than a human being.
- Shift from "Project" to "Person": Stop thinking of your hobbies as things you need to "monetize" or "get good at." Do things badly. Do things for no reason.
- Collective Action over Self-Optimization: Neoliberalism wants us isolated because individuals are easier to manage. Real power comes from community. Instead of buying another self-help book, talk to your neighbors or coworkers about the pressures you're all feeling.
The digital panopticon is real, but it only works if we keep feeding it. By refusing to optimize every inch of our souls, we start to take the power back.
Next Steps for Reclaiming Your Psyche:
Start by disabling all non-human notifications on your phone for 48 hours. Notice when the "itch" to check for engagement happens and sit with that discomfort. Identify one activity this week that you will do specifically because it has zero productive value and will not be shared on social media. This "silent" space is where genuine freedom begins to breathe again.