But this formidable power of death - and this is perhaps what accounts for part of its force and
the cynicism with which it has so greatly expanded its limits - now presents itself as the
counterpart of a power that exerts a positive influence on life, that endeavors to administer,
optimize, and multiply it, subjecting it to precise controls and comprehensive regulations. Wars
are no longer waged in the name of a sovereign who must be defended; they are waged on behalf of
the existence of everyone; entire populations are mobilized for the purpose of wholesale slaughter
in the name of life necessity: massacres have become vital. It is as managers of life and survival,
of bodies and the race, that so many regimes have been able to wage so many wars, causing so many
men to be killed.