The biotechnical embrace

This essay discusses three interpretive concepts that link bioscience and b iotechnology to society: the medical imaginary, the biotechnical embrace, a nd the clinical narrative. Drawing on research carried out in the United St ates and internationally on the culture and political economy of biomedicin e, the essay examines these interpretive concepts through examples from stu dies of patients, clinicians, scientists, and venture capitalists engaged i n the worlds of oncology and high technology medicine. These interpretive c oncepts contribute to an understanding of how the affective dimensions of t he experience of patients, clinicians and scientists invested in high techn ology medicine are fundamental to bioscience and biomedicine, and to the po litical economy and culture of hope.