Maria Pires Forward College Introduction to International Political Thought November 2022 How can Foucault's philosophy of power illuminate the coercive practices of modern States? In this essay, I will refute Marx’ argument that power is expressed by economic relations by contrasting it with Foucault’s view of power/knowledge. This is significant because supported by the argument of human condition subjectivity Foucauldian power constitutes all power relationships. First, I will disuse Marx's interpretation of class power and how he focuses majorly on economic relations to define how states function. Secondly, I will follow with Foucault’s power theory in which power is more generally analysed beyond the economic factors and how he takes into account social relations. Thirdly I will contrast the French philosopher with Marx and conclude that Foucaultian power is a more accurate approach to analyse how modern society state's deal with power relations. Power, for Marx, is not a socio-political dogma, but a resource, and is concentrated among certain actors and groups – namely, the ruling class and the State – who wield it over a dominated (proletariat) group (Sherman, 2015). Power is held by groups dominate society and build statesbased on their own ideas, values and self-interests. The laws and principles that develop with government are set up to protect «good» values but, in reality, these are illusions put forward in order to justify and maintain the dominant group’s power and control. Marx described those who could not see that they were oppressed as suffering from ‘false consciousness’. According to Marx there was an underlying economic structure that determined social reality (Sherman, 2015). For Marx, then, power is economically determined. The dominant class, in society, are the ones who hold power and its function is to maintain the dominance of those who own the means of production by suppressing other groups in society. The dominant class suppress other groups by exercising power and making them believe that the existing relations of exploitation and oppression are natural and inevitable(name,date). Although the origins of power are material, its effects are less so, since power (conceived as the control of economic processes) translates into the control over ideas. Ideas feed back into material reality, where they are implemented in everyday life as ideologies that lure the working class into a false consciousness, thereby ensuring their subordination (Sherman, 2015) Knowledge, then, is understood by Marx as a resource used in the services of power, which is shaped by the political interests of those who control the economic means of production (Sherman, 2015)). Naturally, the maintenance of the hierarchical class relations it reproduces is the most fundamental interest of the ruling class. Knowledge functions to the manipulation of individuals to ensure the stability of the social order and the accumulation of private profit for the upper class(Sherman, 2015)). As Marx understands it, the relationship knowledge has with power hinges on a false promise: Power manipulates human beings, masks reality, and therefore compromises knowledge’s claim to truth. Power, for Marx, is negative, as its This study source was downloaded by 100000785975302 from CourseHero.com on 05-08-2023 19:21:41 GMT -05:00 https://www.coursehero.com/file/194262041/Foucaultpdf/ effects are repressive and obscure the “truth”(marx,date) Marx’s ideology thus reduces the relationship of power and knowledge to a question of class power and class interests. However, Foucault does not accept this view of power. While he agrees that governments exploit and repress people, while pretending to be just and fair, he claims it is more complex than the linear narrative of who are the oppressors and who are the oppressed (Olssen,2004). For Foucault, power is not a resource, but a relation. Furthermore, the logic of its distribution does not always imply the accumulation of capital like Marx says. Foucault describes power as a force that controls the way in which we speak, think and interact with one another (Foucault & Gordon, 1980) He argues that power and knowledge are linked, such that it doesn’t make sense to speak of one without the other. According to the French philosopher, all knowledge is possible and takes place within a vast system of power relationships that allow that same knowledge to come to be. Knowledge, then, is not simply descriptive; it is productive. What it produces, among other things, are normative categories, prescriptions for proper conduct, and relations of power (Foucault & Gordon, 1980). Power and knowledge come together in Foucault’s notion of discourse(name,date). According to Foucault no discourse is innocent, because every idea we discuss is only a product of the society we are enslaved to (Foucault & Gordon, 1980). Foucault also believes we are slaves of our own subjectivity, a product of political and social factors. In Foucault, power/knowledge and the way they come together in discourse, are not repressive (as is power in Marx) but productive. For Foucault power has positive effects. It is not repressive, but incredibly productive. Foucault challenges the idea that power is wielded by people or groups by way of ‘sovereign’ acts of domination or coercion, seeing it instead as dispersed and pervasive. Marx and Foucault’s thinking are similar in some aspects but there are considerable differences between them. The main difference lies in their notions of power. Marx's analysis of class power puts its emphasis on the notion of 'class hierarchy' rather than the 'origin of power' as Foucault defends (Olssen,2004). Where Marx had focused on class oppression, Foucault generalized the oppressor/oppressed binary to claim that power impacted all areas of human life, not just economic relations (Olssen,2004). Marx theorizes subjects and the power relations between them in terms of class and capital differences. Foucault’s key contribution to political theory was his insight that any analysis of power relations must recognize how these relations are constitutive of the subjects involved in them (Oksala, 2021). Individuals did not enter the society as fully formed subjects who then demanded rights and represented interests. The political arena is a subjective place, socially made by the personal interest of those in the higher categories of power. Crucially, Foucauldian power does not consider domination by one group over another, because power is not the property of “particular classes or individuals” (Logan, 2017). This is a result of viewing power as relational rather than material. In my view being as economically theoretical as Marx suggests it’s not a good philosophy on how a state function. Individuals are more than economic theory. Human condition is based on subjectivity, external factors who manipulate individual’s preferences and those should be taken into account when making assumptions about how states work. This study source was downloaded by 100000785975302 from CourseHero.com on 05-08-2023 19:21:41 GMT -05:00 https://www.coursehero.com/file/194262041/Foucaultpdf/ With that said, one can agree with the Foucauldian power theory in the sense that Marx is too restrictive as he doesn’t take in account social relations between individuals, the human condition subjectivity. As has been demonstrated, in both analysis on the concept of power we can identify some fundamental points of convergence between Marx and Foucault in their otherwise distinct analyses of power in the sense that they both agree that power constitutes knowledge. However, the key difference is that Foucauldian power constitutes all relationships, whereas Marxian power is expressed by economic hierarchy relations. As such, class domination is not a necessary condition of Foucauldian power. My thesis conclusion is that, as Foucault agrees, Power is dynamic, it cannot be reduced to an economic base. Reference List Jessop, B. (2015) From micro-powers to Governmentality: Foucault's work on statehood, State Formation, Statecraft and state power, Bob Jessop. Available at: https://bobjessop.wordpress.com/2015/01/10/from-micro-powers-to-governmentality-foucaults-workon-statehood-state-formation-statecraft-and-state-power/ (Accessed: December 2022). Erlenbusch, V. (2015) From sovereignty to war: Foucault's analytic of power, E-International Relations. Available at: https://www.e-ir.info/2015/12/12/from-sovereignty-to-war-foucaults-analytic-of-power/ (Accessed: December 2022). Foucault, M. and Gordon, C. (1980) Power/Knowledge: Selected interviews and other writings 1972-1977. Brighton, Sussex: The Harvester Press. Foucault: Power is everywhere (2011) Understanding power for social change powercubenet IDS at Sussex University Foucault power is everywhere Comments. Available at: https://www.powercube.net/otherforms-of-power/foucault-power-is-everywhere/ (Accessed: December 2022). Foucault's conception of power and resistance (2015) Academia.edu. Available at: https://www.academia.edu/16608604/Foucault_s_Conception_of_Power_and_Resistance (Accessed: December 2022). Fruhling, Z. (2020) Foucault's concept of "Power/knowledge" explained, Zachary Fruhling. Available at: https://www.zacharyfruhling.com/philosophy-blog/foucaults-concept-of-power-knowledge-explained (Accessed: December 5, 2022). Godfrey, L. (2012) Foucault's interpretation of modernity, E-International Relations. Available at: https://www.e-ir.info/2012/10/26/foucaults-interpretation-of-modernity/ (Accessed: December 2022). Logan, F. (2017) Bringing power to justice: Rawls Contra Marx and Foucault, E-International Relations. Available at: https://www.e-ir.info/2017/01/24/bringing-power-to-justice-rawls-contra-marx-andfoucault/ (Accessed: December 2022). This study source was downloaded by 100000785975302 from CourseHero.com on 05-08-2023 19:21:41 GMT -05:00 https://www.coursehero.com/file/194262041/Foucaultpdf/ McManus, M. (2019) Marx vs Foucault: Reflections on history and power, Areo. Available at: https://areomagazine.com/2019/08/29/marx-vs-foucault-reflections-on-history-and-power/ (Accessed: December 2022). Oksala , J. (2021) Johanna Oksala on Foucault, Marx and neoliberal subjects - theory, Culture & Society: Global Public Life, Theory, Culture & Society | Global Public Life. Available at: https://www.theoryculturesociety.org/blog/johanna-oksala-on-foucault-marx-and-neoliberal-subjects (Accessed: December 2022). Olssen, M. (2004). Foucault and Marxism: Rewriting the Theory of Historical Materialism. Policy Futures in Education, 2(3–4), 454–482. https://doi.org/10.2304/pfie.2004.2.3.3 Sherman, M. (2015) The "how" and "why" of power: From Marx to Foucault to power today, Melina Sherman. Available at: https://melinasherman.com/2015/04/13/the-how-and-why-of-power-frommarx-to-foucault-to-power-today/ (Accessed: December 2022). This study source was downloaded by 100000785975302 from CourseHero.com on 05-08-2023 19:21:41 GMT -05:00 https://www.coursehero.com/file/194262041/Foucaultpdf/ Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
