Daniel Zamora

Mitchell Dean

How Michel Foucault found, in Californian counterculture, a seductive alternative to socialism and the welfare state In May 1975, Michel Foucault took LSD in the southern Californian desert. He described it as the most important event of his life, which would lead him to completely rework his History of Sexuality. His focus now would be less on changing power relations in society but rather on the experiments of subjectivity and the stylization of existence. Through this lens, he would reinterpret the social movements of May '68 and embrace anti-totalitarianism as an alternative to socialism and revolution. He would also come to appreciate the possibilities of autonomy offered by a new force on the French political scene that was neither of the left nor the right: neoliberalism. Part intellectual history, part critical theory, this book challenges the way we think about both Foucault and progressive politics today.

Foucault and the End of Revolution

The Last Man Takes LSD

Mitchell M. Dean

Governmentality draws on Foucault's work along with wider analytical frameworks to reclaim centre stage for this sociological concept. The author argues for a new understanding of how the individual is related to the state and vice versa.

Power and Rule in Modern Society

Governmentality

First Published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Foucault's Methods and Historical Sociology

Critical And Effective Histories

Kaspar Villadsen

An examination of Foucault’s work to determine the relationship between the state and civil society. State Phobia and Civil Society draws extensively upon the work of Michel Foucault to argue for the necessity of the concept of the state in political and social analysis. In so doing, it takes on not only the dominant view in the human sciences that the concept of the state is outmoded, but also the large interpretative literature on Foucault, which claims that he displaces the state for a de-centered analytics of power. Understanding Foucault means understanding all his interlocutors—whether Marxists, Maoists, neoliberals, or social democrats. It requires turning to Foucault’s colleagues, including Deleuze and Guattari, François Ewald, and Blandine Kreigel, in relation to whom he carved out a position. And it entails an examination of his legacy in Hardt and Negri, the theorists of Empire, or in Nikolas Rose, the influential English sociologist. Foucault’s own view is highly ambiguous: he claims to be concerned with the exercise of political sovereignty, yet his work cannot make visible the concept of the state. Moving beyond Foucault, the authors outline new ways of conceiving the state’s role in establishing social order and in mediating between an inequality-producing capitalist economy and the juridical equality and political rights of individuals. Arguing that states and their cooperation remain of vital importance to resolving contemporary crises, they demonstrate the interdependence of state and civil society and the necessity of social forms of governance. Praise for State Phobia and Civil Society “I can only describe State Phobia in terms usually reserved for bestsellers: un-put-downable, a cause of sleepless nights.” —Slavoj Žižek, University of Ljubljana “This important book will stand as a milestone in Foucault studies and social and political theory more generally.” —Sanford Schram, Hunter College “State Phobia is a timely investigation of the state in a period of austerity packages, welfare cuts, pension restrictions and admonitions to citizens for self-maintenance.” —Bryan S. Turner, The Graduate Center, CUNY “This strong and timely work is a valuable corrective to many of the excesses of Foucault scholarship that have emerged and taken root in recent decades.” —Jeffrey Bussolini, City University of New York

The Political Legacy of Michel Foucault

State Phobia and Civil Society

power and rule in modern society

"When it comes to 'power', it can often feel as if everyone is talking about it, yet no one appears to have given it any thought. Well, not quite. In this original and timely book, Mitchell Dean provides a characteristically thoughtful and incisive analysis that aims to renovate the concept of power through an understanding of its signature and how it works. Through a thorough and intelligent engagement with the work of Foucault, Schmitt, and Agamben, their lacuna and failings, Dean pieces together a clear and precise account of sovereignty, governmentality, and bio-politics, which has much to commend it." - Paul Du Gay, Copenhagen Business School "Dean’s erudite and relentlessly critical reading of Foucault, Schmitt and Agamben extracts from these authors new insights about the signature of power ... Immensely valuable and a major contribution to social and political thought." - William Walters, Carleton University Mitchell Dean revitalized the study of ‘governmentality’ with his bestselling book of the same title. His new book on power is a landmark work. It combines an extraordinary breadth of perspective with pinpoint accuracy about what power means for us today. For students it provides sharp readings of the main approaches in the field. On this level, it operates as a foundational work in the study of power. It builds on this to reframe the concept of power, offering original and exceptionally fruitful reading. It throws new light onto the importance of biopolitics, sovereignty and governmentality. Mitchell Dean has established himself as a master of governmentality. This new book will do the same for how we conceptualize and use power. Mitchell Dean is Professor of Public Governance at Copenhagen Business School, Denmark and Professor of Sociology at the University of Newcastle, Australia.

Sovereignty, Governmentality and Biopolitics

The Signature of Power

Foucault’s personal and political experimentation, its ambiguous legacy, and the rise of neoliberal politics Part intellectual history, part critical theory, The Last Man Takes LSD challenges the way we think about both Michel Foucault and modern progressive politics. One fateful day in May 1975, Foucault dropped acid in the southern California desert. In letters reproduced here, he described it as among the most important events of his life, one which would lead him to completely rework his History of Sexuality. That trip helped redirect Foucault’s thought and contributed to a tectonic shift in the intellectual life of the era. He came to reinterpret the social movements of May ’68 and reposition himself politically in France, embracing anti-totalitarian currents and becoming a critic of the welfare state. Mitchell Dean and Daniel Zamora examine the full historical context of the turn in Foucault’s thought, which included studies of the Iranian revolution and French socialist politics, through which he would come to appreciate the possibilities of autonomy offered by a new force on the French political scene that was neither of the left nor the right: neoliberalism.

In May 1975, Michel Foucault took LSD in the desert in southern California. He described it as the most important event of his life which would lead him to completely rework his History of Sexuality. His focus now would not be on power relations but on the experiments of subjectivity, and the care of the self. Through this lens he would reinterpret the social movements of May 68 and position himself politically in France in relation to the emergent ant-totalitarian and anti-welfare state currents. He would also come to appreciate the possibilities of autonomy offered by a new force on the French political scene that was neither of the Left nor the Right: neoliberalism.

Mitchell Dean

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