Foucault avec Marx

by Jacques Bidet

Foucault et Marx : quand on accole ces deux noms, c’est bien souvent pour les opposer. À Marx, théoricien du mouvement ouvrier, philosophe de la totalité, a répondu Foucault, penseur des singularités et des micro-pouvoirs, pourfendeur d’un marxisme essoufflé.
Lire Foucault avec Marx, comme nous y invite ce livre, c’est au contraire reconnaître leur complémentarité, c’est dégager les points de rencontres possibles. C’est suivre Foucault sur le versant de l’exploitation resté inexploré par le marxisme et réinscrire ses travaux dans une perspective globale, qui était celle de Marx. C’est affirmer qu’aujourd'hui, il n’y a pas de « pouvoir-propriétaire » qui ne soit adossé à un « pouvoir-savoir », pas de discipline qui ne sous-tende un rapport de classe. Pas plus qu’il n’y a d’État qui ne s’estompe dans la gouvernementalité ni de marché sans organisation.
Le "différend" Marx/Foucault reste prétexte à des querelles académiques, mais sur le terrain des luttes en revanche, ils se croisent. Reste, comme le dit Jacques Bidet, à faire s’entendre leurs vérités « pour une commune stratégie d’en bas ».

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Theory

242 pages, Paperback

First published November 14, 2014

About the author

Jacques Bidet is a French philosopher and social theorist, currently professor emeritus in the Philosophy Department at the Université de Paris X - Nanterre. His most recent translated books are Exploring Marx's Capital: Philosophical, Economic, and Political Dimensions (2007), and A Critical Companion to Contemporary Marxism (2007). He wrote the introduction to Louis Althusser's On the Reproduction of Capitalism (2014).

Reviews

[Ravi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am glad I read this book. It helped me understand the evolution of Foucault's thought. However there were far too many references to Bidet's earlier works and I felt I would have been better off just reading those books. I also was not entirely convinced by Bidet's decision to use Habermas to buttress his analysis or at least it did not seem adequately grounded. At times I felt I might have been better off reading this in the original French; I have no way of knowing without getting a copy of the original but I suspect this translation by Steven Corcoran was a bit too literal at times. Still it gave me a better appreciation of Foucault, particularly his later work on liberalism.

[Redpoet · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am done wasting my time with this gobblygook….Foucault and the author have little to say that any normal human being could understand…I don’t buy this shit. The only person clear in this book is Marx and we don’t get to hear much from him…

[Onur]

Son derece muğlak bir dille yazılmış. Özellikle Foucault'nun kullandığı kavramlara aşina olmayan birisi için okumak işkence gelebilir.

[Morales Florence · Rating 2 out of 5]

il y a que la conclusion qui vaut le coup

[Zhenia Vasiliev · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lively and succinct roadmap of key Foucault's notions from the standpoint of Marx's theory.