[lbo-talk] Power (Waiting for Foucault)

Charles Brown charlesb at cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us
Thu Jul 3 09:50:43 PDT 2008



>>> Miles Jackson
Charles Brown wrote:
>
> Umm--that's exactly Foucault's point. Power is an emergent property
of
>
> social interactions.
>
> Miles
>
> ^^^
> CB: Some - like Sahlins in _Waiting for Foucault_ - seem to think he
> reduces social relations to a power/violence instinct; like every
> individual has an instinctive will-to-power.
>
That's a pretty strange reading of Foucault. For Foucault, appeals to

instinct are discourse to be analyzed, not the cause of social relations. He's a careful enough historian not to make that gross category error.

Miles

^^^ CB: Doesn't seem such a strange reading when you consider the Foucault statements Ted sent to the list a little while back on violence as instinctive; and all the micro-power readings of Foucault, power, power everywhere. ___________________________________ http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk

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