<abstract xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>As affective labor is becoming more dominant in contemporary capitalism, the affect of the body politic is increasingly important. This article argues for a theory of the <italic>affective state apparatus</italic> to account for the state's role in governing the affect of the population. An analysis of George W. Bush's <italic>Achieving the Promise: Transforming Mental Health Care in America</italic> reveals that an affective state apparatus functions to capture, constitute, and circulate the affects of the population. This article contends that an affective state apparatus operates through the very intimacies of our bodies in order to produce ever more efficient and productive capitalist subjects.</p></abstract>

As affective labor is becoming more dominant in contemporary capitalism, the affect of the body politic is increasingly important. This article argues for a theory of the affective state apparatus to account for the state's role in governing the affect of the population. An analysis of George W. Bush's Achieving the Promise: Transforming Mental Health Care in America reveals that an affective state apparatus functions to capture, constitute, and circulate the affects of the population. This article contends that an affective state apparatus operates through the very intimacies of our bodies in order to produce ever more efficient and productive capitalist subjects.

Affective Labor and Governmental Policy: George W. Bush's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health

College of Communication, Butler University, USA

Baltic Journal of Law & Politics

As affective labor is becoming more dominant in contemporary capitalism, the affect of the body politic is increasingly important. This article argues for a...

Affective Labor and Governmental Policy: George W. Bush's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health

Published Online: Dec 21, 2011

Page range: 1 - 23

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/v10076-011-0010-7

Keywords
Affective labor, mental health, George W. Bush, affective state apparatus

This content is open access.

Affective Labor and Governmental Policy: George W. Bush's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health

Published Online: Dec 21, 2011

Page range: 1 - 23

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/v10076-011-0010-7

KeywordsAffective labor, mental health, George W. Bush, affective state apparatus

This content is open access.

Keywords
Affective labor, mental health, George W. Bush, affective state apparatus