<DIV><DIV><B>Picador is proud to publish the sixth volume in Foucault's prestigious, groundbreaking series of lectures at the Collège de France from 1970 to 1984 <P></P></B><I>The Birth of Biopolitics </I>continues to pursue the themes of Foucault's lectures from <I>Security, Territory, </I>Population<I>. </I> Having shown how eighteenth-century political economy marks the birth of a new governmental rationality--seeking maximum effectiveness by governing less and in accordance with the naturalness of the phenomena to be governed--Michel Foucault undertakes a detailed analysis of the forms of this liberal governmentality.  In a direct and conversational tone, this book raises questions of political philosophy and social policy that are at the heart of current debates about the role and status of neo-liberalism in twentieth century politics. <P></P></DIV></DIV>