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Powers of Freedom: Reframing Political Thought
This book presents an impressive synthesis of an important and influential school of thought, derived from Foucault's writings on governmentality, which extends into new and challenging domains. Nikolas Rose ranges across the many fields on which governmentality theory has been been brought to bear, including expertise, culture and government, economic management, psychology, and community. Unusually, he suggests that freedom is not the opposite of government but one of its key inventions and most significant resources. His book will serve as an intelligent introduction to governmentality for students and scholars alike.
334 pages, Paperback
First published May 12, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 23, 2010
So I read Chapter 1: Governing.
It was AWESOME. I kind of feel like I don't need to read anything on this topic again. Which doesn't mean I won't. Actually, it probably means I will now whereas I wouldn't have before because I didn't care so much.
He's a good writer with good (if slightly grandiloquent) turns of phrase. Like, "our freedom is the mobile outcome of a multitude of human technologies" (55). That's not even a great example, just one that comes to mind.
It's Foucault, obviously, but broken down in a much clearer and applicable way. It took me a while to read it, because there's a lot there, and I could stand to go back and read it at least three more times, but I don't need to do that to know I like it.
I don't actually have this book in my hands, and, given my reading load, it's unlikely that I'll get a chance to take on the whole book soon. But I will. Eventually.
It was AWESOME. I kind of feel like I don't need to read anything on this topic again. Which doesn't mean I won't. Actually, it probably means I will now whereas I wouldn't have before because I didn't care so much.
He's a good writer with good (if slightly grandiloquent) turns of phrase. Like, "our freedom is the mobile outcome of a multitude of human technologies" (55). That's not even a great example, just one that comes to mind.
It's Foucault, obviously, but broken down in a much clearer and applicable way. It took me a while to read it, because there's a lot there, and I could stand to go back and read it at least three more times, but I don't need to do that to know I like it.
I don't actually have this book in my hands, and, given my reading load, it's unlikely that I'll get a chance to take on the whole book soon. But I will. Eventually.
November 6, 2019
Yazar Britanya Fukoculuğu diye şaka yollu adlandırılan bir akımın temsilcisi. Özetle, düzeniçi düşünmenin araçları bir kere bireylere iyice belletilirse, her adımlarında onları izlemeye gerek kalmaz, kendi kendilerini güderler, kapitalist iktidarlar bunu kavradı, diyor.
Hatta bu düzeniçi düşünce, özgürlüğü 'devletten bir şey bekleme, kendi ayakları üzerinde duran özgür, girişimci birey ol yahu' diye aktarırsa bir de üzerine kendilerini siyasal baskıya uğramış gibi de hissetmeyeceklerdir. Rose'a göre son dönem kapitalizm böyle çalışıyor, insanlara özgür olma yükümlülüğü getirerek.
Dolayısıyla özgürlük bir iktidar mekanizması. Araçları, kurumları, kavramları, uzmanları, raporları var. Özgürlüğünle yapabileceğin şeyler konusunda (devrim hariç) sana hayaller kurdurma gücü var.
Devletlerin özgürlüğü bir yönetim aracı olarak kullanmaya başlamaları, şiddetin ve baskının ortadan kalktığı anlamına gelmiyor. Ancak devletin baskı ve zulüm uygularken de özgürlük argümanını kullanması demektir bu: Devlet o mahalleye baskın yaparak demokratik kitle örgütünü dağıtır, halk meclisini yıkar çünkü bunlar aracılığıyla teröristler halkı zorlamakta, onun iradesini teslim almakta ve insanların özgürlüğünü kısıtlamaktadır. Gerçek özgürlük devlet iktidarıyla korunan serbest girişim düzenindedir çünkü: Hayata dönüş operasyonu.
Güzel bir çalışma ama, kendini okutan doğrudanlıktan açıklıktan uzak. Ana fikri verdikten sonra da biraz tekrara düşüyor.
Hatta bu düzeniçi düşünce, özgürlüğü 'devletten bir şey bekleme, kendi ayakları üzerinde duran özgür, girişimci birey ol yahu' diye aktarırsa bir de üzerine kendilerini siyasal baskıya uğramış gibi de hissetmeyeceklerdir. Rose'a göre son dönem kapitalizm böyle çalışıyor, insanlara özgür olma yükümlülüğü getirerek.
Dolayısıyla özgürlük bir iktidar mekanizması. Araçları, kurumları, kavramları, uzmanları, raporları var. Özgürlüğünle yapabileceğin şeyler konusunda (devrim hariç) sana hayaller kurdurma gücü var.
Devletlerin özgürlüğü bir yönetim aracı olarak kullanmaya başlamaları, şiddetin ve baskının ortadan kalktığı anlamına gelmiyor. Ancak devletin baskı ve zulüm uygularken de özgürlük argümanını kullanması demektir bu: Devlet o mahalleye baskın yaparak demokratik kitle örgütünü dağıtır, halk meclisini yıkar çünkü bunlar aracılığıyla teröristler halkı zorlamakta, onun iradesini teslim almakta ve insanların özgürlüğünü kısıtlamaktadır. Gerçek özgürlük devlet iktidarıyla korunan serbest girişim düzenindedir çünkü: Hayata dönüş operasyonu.
Güzel bir çalışma ama, kendini okutan doğrudanlıktan açıklıktan uzak. Ana fikri verdikten sonra da biraz tekrara düşüyor.
February 15, 2011
Probably the most useful chapters are the ones on ‘community’ and ‘numbers’. The problem of community as it relates to both leftist, and right-wing or libertarian thought as a solution to the problem of government is pretty interesting. This is probably one of the major appeals of ‘community’ in the domain of conservation, and as Rose points out, the appeal is that community is (in Western political philosophy) a group with a collective bond that exists prior to political power. Obviously, in reality, acting upon a presupposed community is itself a governmental act of creation. An interesting insight from the chapter on numbers is the relation between democracy and numbers, which I think is a good starting point for considering the difference between democracy and indigenous consensual politics. Maybe one question to ask in this context is how environmental politics facilitates the spread of numerical data collection, and how this data collection intersects with communal life as this life is integrated into programs for management and surveillance.
February 16, 2011
Just finished re-reading a good part of this book. Rose expands the idea of governmentality, making it clearer, more interesting, and more obvious how one can go about empirically investigating power with the ideas originated by Foucault. Excellent!
August 26, 2016
Rose writes like poetry, although it can be difficult to substantiate his claims in an academic setting.
April 13, 2017
Excellent and infuriating book about freedom's assimilation into control.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews