Very good response Ari
On Mon, Feb 6, 2012 at 5:51 AM, ari <ari@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> Foucault recognised the Left as his 'family' (I guess with all the
> infighting, dysfunctional and authoritarian relationships that it
> entails). At the time of the stale debate you are reproducing here I
> felt that Balibar's essay on Power and Value was intelligent and thought
> provoking. I can't remember where it is, perhaps in Michel Foucault
> philosopher, the collection.
> Thankfully things have moved on, both in Marxist theory and Foucauldian
> investigations. I don't think you can dispense with either for an
> effective critique of capitalism. But we should certainly dispense with
> historical revisionism, whatever its colour.
>
>
> On Sun, 5 Feb 2012 13:47:30 -0600, Chathan Vemuri wrote:
>> I've asked some people I know with expertise on the matter but
>> thought
>> I'd get a better range of responses here. Me and some Marxist friends
>> were discussing the Power and Strategies interview where Foucault
>> talks about the Gulag. My friends felt he was creating a straw man by
>> suggesting Marxism and Leninism be examined in light of the reality
>> of
>> the Gulag. They went to further to castigate Foucault for
>> inadvertently being in theoretical alliance with liberal thought that
>> only further ignored the necessary critique of capitalism. While I
>> think they are right about Power and Strategies, I'm not sure if the
>> other argument follows. Indeed it seems to be a common theme in
>> Marx-Foucault comparisons. Foucauldians, on the other hand, feel no
>> guilt in writing off Marxists as intellectual dinosaurs who have at
>> best contributed to failed political killing machines (Stalin, Mao,
>> Che). Does anyone on here know of some good arguments or even books
>> that go beyond these useless exchanges? I personally feel there's a
>> certain kinship between the two thinkers in terms of subjectiviation,
>> power relations, concern with historicization. And how would one
>> respond to such pointless jabs to begin with. I wasn't convinced of
>> Foucault's neat link between Marx and Soviet repression but I hardly
>> think that his critique is akin to a liberal philosophy of the state.
>
> _______________________________________________
> Foucault-L mailing list
--
Chathan Vemuri
900 58th Street
West Des Moines, IA 50266
chathan-vemuri@xxxxxxxxx
(319)-512-9318
On Mon, Feb 6, 2012 at 5:51 AM, ari <ari@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> Foucault recognised the Left as his 'family' (I guess with all the
> infighting, dysfunctional and authoritarian relationships that it
> entails). At the time of the stale debate you are reproducing here I
> felt that Balibar's essay on Power and Value was intelligent and thought
> provoking. I can't remember where it is, perhaps in Michel Foucault
> philosopher, the collection.
> Thankfully things have moved on, both in Marxist theory and Foucauldian
> investigations. I don't think you can dispense with either for an
> effective critique of capitalism. But we should certainly dispense with
> historical revisionism, whatever its colour.
>
>
> On Sun, 5 Feb 2012 13:47:30 -0600, Chathan Vemuri wrote:
>> I've asked some people I know with expertise on the matter but
>> thought
>> I'd get a better range of responses here. Me and some Marxist friends
>> were discussing the Power and Strategies interview where Foucault
>> talks about the Gulag. My friends felt he was creating a straw man by
>> suggesting Marxism and Leninism be examined in light of the reality
>> of
>> the Gulag. They went to further to castigate Foucault for
>> inadvertently being in theoretical alliance with liberal thought that
>> only further ignored the necessary critique of capitalism. While I
>> think they are right about Power and Strategies, I'm not sure if the
>> other argument follows. Indeed it seems to be a common theme in
>> Marx-Foucault comparisons. Foucauldians, on the other hand, feel no
>> guilt in writing off Marxists as intellectual dinosaurs who have at
>> best contributed to failed political killing machines (Stalin, Mao,
>> Che). Does anyone on here know of some good arguments or even books
>> that go beyond these useless exchanges? I personally feel there's a
>> certain kinship between the two thinkers in terms of subjectiviation,
>> power relations, concern with historicization. And how would one
>> respond to such pointless jabs to begin with. I wasn't convinced of
>> Foucault's neat link between Marx and Soviet repression but I hardly
>> think that his critique is akin to a liberal philosophy of the state.
>
> _______________________________________________
> Foucault-L mailing list
--
Chathan Vemuri
900 58th Street
West Des Moines, IA 50266
chathan-vemuri@xxxxxxxxx
(319)-512-9318