{"id":52584,"date":"2025-04-18T11:29:13","date_gmt":"2025-04-18T09:29:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/?p=52584"},"modified":"2025-05-07T10:58:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T08:58:26","slug":"are-demographics-just-numbers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/en_gb\/are-demographics-just-numbers\/","title":{"rendered":"Are demographics just numbers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Demography is not just a matter of figures and statistics<\/strong>. In \u201cLa Volont\u00e9 de savoir\u201d, then in his lecture at the Coll\u00e8ge de France entitled \u201cS\u00e9curit\u00e9, Territoire, Population\u201d, the philosopher Michel Foucault develops the idea that <strong>it is above all a tool of power<\/strong>. He shows how, in the 18th century, the notion of \u201cpopulation\u201d became a crucial economic and political issue. Governments began to see the population not simply as a people, but as a set of measurable variables: <strong>birth rate, death rate, health status, fertility<\/strong>. These data enable strategic management aimed at balancing population growth and available resources. <strong>Thus, the population is seen as a collective asset and a workforce essential to the liberal economy.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This development gave rise to what Foucault calls <strong>\u201cbiopower\u201d<\/strong>: a power that is no longer exercised solely over individuals, but over the population as a whole. Unlike traditional forms of domination, <strong>this power acts by influencing the general conditions of life<\/strong> rather than by imposing strict rules.<\/p>\n<p>For example, governments seek to regulate variables such as life expectancy or public health by intervening in environmental or social factors, while leaving a certain amount of individual freedom.<\/p>\n<p>Current debates on population ageing, migration and public health reveal the extent to which demographic policies are still linked to power politics. <strong>But the question remains: how can collective management be balanced with respect for individual freedoms?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Behind every figure, every percentage and every statistical curve, there are singular life trajectories that the big tent approach to demography tends to obscure.<\/p>\n<p>To counter the stereotypes that reduce migration to an abstract flow or a problem to be managed, <strong>the astounding exhibition \u201cMigrations, a human odyssey\u201d,<\/strong> which is being held at the Mus\u00e9e de l\u2019Homme in Paris until 8 June 2025, favours a sensitive approach.<\/p>\n<p>Starting with an exploration of the words we use \u2013 migrant, refugee, undocumented, expatriate, foreigner \u2013 <strong>the exhibition illustrates the extent to which language shapes our perception of human mobility. <\/strong>These terms, which are sometimes technical or administrative, often mask the diversity of the stories behind them. Rosa, a Syrian engineer who travelled via French Guiana, and Diallo, a Malian who braved the Mediterranean, embody these complex stories. The exhibition links their journeys to those of famous figures such as Maria Casar\u00e8s and M\u00e9lin\u00e9e Manouchian, reminding us that every migration is both ordinary and extraordinary, marked by unique projects, dreams and challenges.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, the population \u2013 <strong>both object and subject of knowledge and power <\/strong>\u2013 reflects the tensions between control and autonomy in our modern societies.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Behind the figures and statistics, political choices and human lives are at stake.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>References<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8211; Michel Foucault, \u201cHistoire de la Sexualit\u00e9. 1. La Volont\u00e9 de Savoir\u201d, Gallimard, 1976<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8211; Michel Foucault, \u201cS\u00e9curit\u00e9, Territoire, Population\u201d, Cours au Coll\u00e8ge de France 1978, Gallimard\/Seuil, 2004<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8211; \u201cMigrations, une odyss\u00e9e humaine\u201d, exhibition, Mus\u00e9e de l\u2019Homme, Paris, from 27\/11\/2024 to 08\/06\/2025<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Accuracy-Talks-Straight-12-UK.pdf\">Download PDF &gt;<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Sophie Chassat &#8211; Partner, Accuracy<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Accuracy Talks Straight #12 &#8211; The cultural corner<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Demography is not just a matter of figures and statistics. In \u201cLa Volont\u00e9 de savoir\u201d, then in his lecture at the Coll\u00e8ge de France entitled \u201cS\u00e9curit\u00e9, Territoire, Population\u201d, the philosopher Michel Foucault develops the idea that it is above all a tool of power. He shows how, in the 18th century, the notion of \u201cpopulation\u201d [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52477,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[212,233],"tags":[386],"class_list":["post-52584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-analysis","category-article","tag-accuracy-talks-straight-12"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.5 (Yoast SEO v27.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Are demographics just numbers - Accuracy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/en_gb\/are-demographics-just-numbers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are demographics just numbers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Demography is not just a matter of figures and statistics. In \u201cLa Volont\u00e9 de savoir\u201d, then in his lecture at the Coll\u00e8ge de France entitled \u201cS\u00e9curit\u00e9, Territoire, Population\u201d, the philosopher Michel Foucault develops the idea that it is above all a tool of power. He shows how, in the 18th century, the notion of \u201cpopulation\u201d [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/en_gb\/are-demographics-just-numbers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Accuracy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-18T09:29:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-07T08:58:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/shutterstock_2366626339-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"dev\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"dev\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\\\/en_gb\\\/are-demographics-just-numbers\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\\\/en_gb\\\/are-demographics-just-numbers\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"dev\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8cfdef62d7af45536d2b7b45979f72e7\"},\"headline\":\"Are demographics just numbers\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-18T09:29:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-07T08:58:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\\\/en_gb\\\/are-demographics-just-numbers\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":501,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\\\/en_gb\\\/are-demographics-just-numbers\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/shutterstock_2366626339-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Accuracy Talks Straight 12\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Analysis\",\"Article\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\\\/en_gb\\\/are-demographics-just-numbers\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\\\/en_gb\\\/are-demographics-just-numbers\\\/\",\"name\":\"Are demographics just numbers - Accuracy\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\\\/en_gb\\\/are-demographics-just-numbers\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\\\/en_gb\\\/are-demographics-just-numbers\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/shutterstock_2366626339-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-18T09:29:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-07T08:58:26+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\\\/en_gb\\\/are-demographics-just-numbers\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\\\/en_gb\\\/are-demographics-just-numbers\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\\\/en_gb\\\/are-demographics-just-numbers\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/shutterstock_2366626339-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/shutterstock_2366626339-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1440},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\\\/en_gb\\\/are-demographics-just-numbers\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Accueil\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Are demographics just numbers\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Accuracy\",\"description\":\"Business Advisers - Financial Consultants\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Accuracy\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/unnamed-3.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/unnamed-3.jpg\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Accuracy\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/accuracy\\\/?originalSubdomain=fr\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/accuracycareers\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8cfdef62d7af45536d2b7b45979f72e7\",\"name\":\"dev\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f1ffcac9ca2fa95ad3ec33e9be3ade82f752acb0cabe541e56c5889225afa88a?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f1ffcac9ca2fa95ad3ec33e9be3ade82f752acb0cabe541e56c5889225afa88a?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f1ffcac9ca2fa95ad3ec33e9be3ade82f752acb0cabe541e56c5889225afa88a?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"dev\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accuracy.com\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Are demographics just numbers - Accuracy","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/en_gb\/are-demographics-just-numbers\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Are demographics just numbers","og_description":"Demography is not just a matter of figures and statistics. In \u201cLa Volont\u00e9 de savoir\u201d, then in his lecture at the Coll\u00e8ge de France entitled \u201cS\u00e9curit\u00e9, Territoire, Population\u201d, the philosopher Michel Foucault develops the idea that it is above all a tool of power. He shows how, in the 18th century, the notion of \u201cpopulation\u201d [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/en_gb\/are-demographics-just-numbers\/","og_site_name":"Accuracy","article_published_time":"2025-04-18T09:29:13+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-05-07T08:58:26+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1440,"url":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/shutterstock_2366626339-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"dev","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"dev","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/en_gb\/are-demographics-just-numbers\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/en_gb\/are-demographics-just-numbers\/"},"author":{"name":"dev","@id":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8cfdef62d7af45536d2b7b45979f72e7"},"headline":"Are demographics just numbers","datePublished":"2025-04-18T09:29:13+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-07T08:58:26+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/en_gb\/are-demographics-just-numbers\/"},"wordCount":501,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/en_gb\/are-demographics-just-numbers\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/shutterstock_2366626339-scaled.jpg","keywords":["Accuracy Talks Straight 12"],"articleSection":["Analysis","Article"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/en_gb\/are-demographics-just-numbers\/","url":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/en_gb\/are-demographics-just-numbers\/","name":"Are demographics just numbers - Accuracy","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/en_gb\/are-demographics-just-numbers\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/en_gb\/are-demographics-just-numbers\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/shutterstock_2366626339-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2025-04-18T09:29:13+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-07T08:58:26+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/en_gb\/are-demographics-just-numbers\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/en_gb\/are-demographics-just-numbers\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/en_gb\/are-demographics-just-numbers\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/shutterstock_2366626339-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/shutterstock_2366626339-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1440},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/en_gb\/are-demographics-just-numbers\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Accueil","item":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Are demographics just numbers"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/","name":"Accuracy","description":"Business Advisers - Financial Consultants","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/#organization","name":"Accuracy","url":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/unnamed-3.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/unnamed-3.jpg","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Accuracy"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/accuracy\/?originalSubdomain=fr","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/accuracycareers\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8cfdef62d7af45536d2b7b45979f72e7","name":"dev","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1ffcac9ca2fa95ad3ec33e9be3ade82f752acb0cabe541e56c5889225afa88a?s=96&d=blank&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1ffcac9ca2fa95ad3ec33e9be3ade82f752acb0cabe541e56c5889225afa88a?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1ffcac9ca2fa95ad3ec33e9be3ade82f752acb0cabe541e56c5889225afa88a?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"dev"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.accuracy.com"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52584"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52584\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53115,"href":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52584\/revisions\/53115"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.accuracy.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}