Re: Foucault and rational choice

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In a message dated 1/5/01 5:56:51 PM Eastern Standard Time,
rlevesqu@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:

> So what I would want to know is this: Does anybody know about any person
> or any work that has tried to confront rational choice theories of
> institutional choice with Foucault's views on productive power? Are
> there any fundamental objections to use Foucault's insights on
> productive power in a rational choice context? Is there any interest
> among the community of scholars that study and use Foucault's work for
> such a confrontation?
>
>

Having read your blurb, I am compelled to ask you to try to write it up so
that there is more context to what you are claiming. It is impossible to
tell where you are coming from. You should introduce Foucault either in an
historical or a conceptual format by using quotes and commenting upon his
varying positions. You should use examples. When you talk about
institutions, please don't assume they are all the same, Foucault would be
turning over in his grave. He was trying to make the point that each locale
uses a different set of practices. When you introduce the concept of power
you might consider juxtaposing other theories of power, like Arendt's,
Neitzsche's, or Habermas's. Somewhere you switched into the notion of
authority, and there implied the process of authorization; well this field,
from Weber to Richard Sennett to the entire political science of the state is
a rather broad arena of competing ideas. You might consider adding some
flesh to the terms you are using and not introducing them so quickly. You
need to discuss a term and then integrate it into your thesis and show the
connections. Lastly, you are using a concept, 'transactors.' I wold imagine
that few people have any idea to what you are referring: what is a
transactor, how are transactors different from actors, and the implication
is, what is a transaction? Micheal Baseeches uses the notion of transactions
in his text, "Dialectical Thinking." In other words, where are you coming
from, and how are you going to deal with the criticisms of Foucault?

Fwelfare@xxxxxxx

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<HTML>In a message dated 1/5/01 5:56:51 PM Eastern Standard Time, rlevesqu@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
 
 
 <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">So what I would want to know is this: Does anybody know about any person
 or any work that has tried to confront rational choice theories of
 institutional choice with Foucault's views on productive power? Are
 there any fundamental objections to use Foucault's insights on
 productive power in a rational choice context? Is there any interest
 among the community of scholars that study and use Foucault's work for
 such a confrontation?  
 
 </BLOCKQUOTE>
 
 Having read your blurb, I am compelled to ask you to try to write it up so that there is more context to what you are claiming.  It is impossible to tell where you are coming from.  You should introduce Foucault either in an historical or a conceptual format by using quotes and commenting upon his varying positions. You should use examples.  When you talk about institutions, please don't assume they are all the same, Foucault would be turning over in his grave.  He was trying to make the point that each locale uses a different set of practices.  When you introduce the concept of power you might consider juxtaposing other theories of power, like Arendt's, Neitzsche's, or Habermas's.  Somewhere you switched into the notion of authority, and there implied the process of authorization; well this field, from Weber to Richard Sennett to the entire political science of the state is a rather broad arena !
of competing ideas.  You might consider adding some flesh to the terms you are using and not introducing them so quickly.  You need to discuss a term and then integrate it into your thesis and show the connections.  Lastly, you are using a concept, 'transactors.'  I wold imagine that few people have any idea to what you are referring: what is a transactor, how are transactors different from actors, and the implication is, what is a transaction?  Micheal Baseeches uses the notion of transactions in his text, "Dialectical Thinking."  In other words, where are you coming from, and how are you going to deal with the criticisms of Foucault?
 
 Fwelfare@xxxxxxx</HTML>

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