Abstract

This article examines neuroleptics in relation to the histories of biopsychiatry and neoliberalism in the United States. Drawing from Foucault's concept of biopower, I contend that neuroleptics are socially constructed as a mechanism to address underlying biological illnesses in order to achieve neoliberal subjectivity for mad/disabled people. I then argue this biopsychiatric and neoliberal construct dominates services with the expressed goal of creating people who self‐govern their own drug consumption. This, however, contrasts with accounts that depict intersubjective balancing acts between treatment providers and mad/disabled people, who must incorporate the various effects of psychoactive drugs beyond measures of rehabilitation. In doing so, I advocate for new lines of psychological inquiry that critically examine the structural determinants of poverty and the underlying constructions of citizenship and wellness.