On Poulantzas and Foucault, it is worth trying to find the following by
Poulantzas, where he discusses Foucault in a manner even more
sympathetic than in SPS.
'Is there a Crisis in Marxism?', trans. Sarah Kafatou, _Journal of the Hellenic Diaspora_, Vol. VI, No. 3, Fall 1979, p. 7-16.
There is also a statement by the editors on Poulantzas's suicide and his contribution to Marxism on pp. 5-6.
The passage on Foucault (and Annales) is as follows:
'Marxism obviously cannot borrow isolated concepts from other disciplines and use them in its own problematic without first seeing to what degree the philosophy underlying those concepts is compatible with its own. A Marxism which did so would be reduced to eclecticism and pseudo-intellectual babbling; the borrowed concepts would not only not enrich it, but they would operate within it as linguistic barriers or even disorienting forces.
Often, however, there is a possibility of harmonizing other theoretical approaches with Marxism, that is to say, with the fundamental conceptual system of historical materialism. This possibility can takes many forms. The most important are the following:
1) Some scholars have an approach which explicitly agrees with Marxism on basic issues. A case in point is Annales, the well-known French school of historiography. In such a case some concepts and conclusions can certainly be incorporated into the conceptual apparatus of historical materialism.
2) Some scholars work without a clear theoretical framework whereas their procedures and results can only be understood with the aid of an implicit logic compatible with Marxism.
3) Some scholars profess to be anti-Marxist, but are really opposed only to a caricature of Marxism such as Stalinist economism, whereas their operative intellectual philosophy is perfectly compatible with an authentic Marxist approach.
4) Some scholars have an anti-Marxist problematic which is extrinsic to their work. Their work is actually grounded on theoretical pre-suppositions which are concealed in their overt argument and coincide with Marxism on fundamental points.
The last two of these categories, as I argued in my last book (_State, Power, Socialism_), apply to the work of Michel Foucault. Indeed, some of Foucault's analyses enrich Marxism greatly, even though in his latest book (_The History of Sexuality_) he expounds an explicitly anti-Marxist problematic, but one directed against a caricature of Marxism. In any event, Foucault's anti-Marxism is by and large not related organically to his intellectual conclusions, but gives the impression of something tacked on.
Within the limits of these categories, then, Marxism can be enriched with elements of theories concerning its own object. In that sense, our recognition of the omissions, disjunctions, and contradictions in Marxism and of the crisis of Marxism is indeed hopeful and can be creative.' (Poulantzas, _loc. cit._, pp. 14-15)
Some points might be made about this passage. The main one is that Poulantzas and Althusser seem to have diverged after 1967 with respect to their conceptions of 'philosophy', with Poulantzas seemingly evoking something like Gramsci's characterisation of Marxism as the 'philosophy of praxis' here in a way that Althusser never did after 1967. But I don't think this would change the main points with respect to Althusser's relation to Foucault, where there were many points of convergence, especially after 1970 (as Montag argues in his essay in _Yale French Studies_ Vol. 88, 1995).
This passage from Poulantzas possibly represents one of the most positive assessments of Foucault within the Marxist left, and was certainly unprecedented in 1979. I hope that the passage is of some use to those working on theses trying to use Foucault in non-anti-Marxist ways.
On 23/07/2005, at 6:02 PM, Richard Bailey wrote:
'Is there a Crisis in Marxism?', trans. Sarah Kafatou, _Journal of the Hellenic Diaspora_, Vol. VI, No. 3, Fall 1979, p. 7-16.
There is also a statement by the editors on Poulantzas's suicide and his contribution to Marxism on pp. 5-6.
The passage on Foucault (and Annales) is as follows:
'Marxism obviously cannot borrow isolated concepts from other disciplines and use them in its own problematic without first seeing to what degree the philosophy underlying those concepts is compatible with its own. A Marxism which did so would be reduced to eclecticism and pseudo-intellectual babbling; the borrowed concepts would not only not enrich it, but they would operate within it as linguistic barriers or even disorienting forces.
Often, however, there is a possibility of harmonizing other theoretical approaches with Marxism, that is to say, with the fundamental conceptual system of historical materialism. This possibility can takes many forms. The most important are the following:
1) Some scholars have an approach which explicitly agrees with Marxism on basic issues. A case in point is Annales, the well-known French school of historiography. In such a case some concepts and conclusions can certainly be incorporated into the conceptual apparatus of historical materialism.
2) Some scholars work without a clear theoretical framework whereas their procedures and results can only be understood with the aid of an implicit logic compatible with Marxism.
3) Some scholars profess to be anti-Marxist, but are really opposed only to a caricature of Marxism such as Stalinist economism, whereas their operative intellectual philosophy is perfectly compatible with an authentic Marxist approach.
4) Some scholars have an anti-Marxist problematic which is extrinsic to their work. Their work is actually grounded on theoretical pre-suppositions which are concealed in their overt argument and coincide with Marxism on fundamental points.
The last two of these categories, as I argued in my last book (_State, Power, Socialism_), apply to the work of Michel Foucault. Indeed, some of Foucault's analyses enrich Marxism greatly, even though in his latest book (_The History of Sexuality_) he expounds an explicitly anti-Marxist problematic, but one directed against a caricature of Marxism. In any event, Foucault's anti-Marxism is by and large not related organically to his intellectual conclusions, but gives the impression of something tacked on.
Within the limits of these categories, then, Marxism can be enriched with elements of theories concerning its own object. In that sense, our recognition of the omissions, disjunctions, and contradictions in Marxism and of the crisis of Marxism is indeed hopeful and can be creative.' (Poulantzas, _loc. cit._, pp. 14-15)
Some points might be made about this passage. The main one is that Poulantzas and Althusser seem to have diverged after 1967 with respect to their conceptions of 'philosophy', with Poulantzas seemingly evoking something like Gramsci's characterisation of Marxism as the 'philosophy of praxis' here in a way that Althusser never did after 1967. But I don't think this would change the main points with respect to Althusser's relation to Foucault, where there were many points of convergence, especially after 1970 (as Montag argues in his essay in _Yale French Studies_ Vol. 88, 1995).
This passage from Poulantzas possibly represents one of the most positive assessments of Foucault within the Marxist left, and was certainly unprecedented in 1979. I hope that the passage is of some use to those working on theses trying to use Foucault in non-anti-Marxist ways.
On 23/07/2005, at 6:02 PM, Richard Bailey wrote:
Hi All,
Poulantzas in State, Power, Socialism cites an interview with Foucault
in Revoltes Logiques, No.4 Winter 1977. I am assuming that is a French
Language journal. Does anyone know whether this interview has been
published in English anywhere?
This is a passage from the interview:
"Something in the body of society - in classes, groups and even
individuals - which somehow escapes the relations of power... which is
their limit, their reverse side, and their consequence... It is that
which responds to every advance of power with a movement designed to
break free from it."
Thanks,
Richard
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