Disturbing notions of chronic illness and individual responsibility: towards a genealogy of morals

This article seeks to demonstrate that chronic illness is increasingly being viewed as culpability in the face of known risks, an instance of moral failure that requires the intervention of a range of political technologies. I argue that, in many western nations, it is becoming less acceptable to enter and remain in a physically incapacitated state: it clashes too uncomfortably with the image of the 'good citizen' as someone who actively participates in social and economic life, makes rational choices and is independent, self-reliant and responsible. By engaging in a genealogical analysis of chronic illness and individual responsibility, exploring how they are placed within the framework of contemporary 'risk-society', employing the insights derived from recent governmentality studies and developing a case study based on the current Australian experience with health promotion and welfare reform, I investigate the ways in which the concepts of health and illness are currently being deployed as tools of 'government'.