Leib becomes Körper here in an especially sinister way: what people might want counts for nothing, while the physical existence and location of their bodies count in someone else’s quest for power. The historical precedent of counting bodies against people does not go unnoticed by imprisoned Black people. By the terms of the Constitution, slaves could not vote, but their bodies were reckoned (as 60 percent of a body each) in the calculations of how many representatives the slave states could elect. Representation in Congress was therefore structured directly by slavery to the benefit of the
...more
