Foucault and

Governmentality

Michel Foucault (1926-1984)

French social philosopher

Offered an alternative view of
social power, distinct from the
Marxist focus on power as an
instrument of capital and the
state.

Foucault and Capillary Power

Power relations (relations of deference and

authority) are not only exerted from the
top-down. Instead, power relations are
capillary in nature. They are embedded
into and intertwined with the most intimate
and everyday social relations.
Power relations are particularly embedded
in institutions like schools, hospitals,
asylums, and workplaces.

Foucault, Capillary Power, and

Institutions
The generation of knowledge
and forms of truth (powerknowledge).
The application of particular
techniques of observation on
human beings and their
behavior.
The organization of bodies in
space and the distribution of
(in)visibilities.

Foucault and Three Forms of Power

Governmentality

Discipline

Sovereignty

Discipline
Sovereignty
Power as Power operating in
institutions, via the
encoded into
organization of
laws and
individuals and their
enforced by
interrelation toward
state coercion.
particular ends.
This is power
invested in the Schools, factories,
hospitals, prisons.
state and
exercised over
subjects

Governmentality
The Conduct of Conduct
How can the forces and
capacities of individuals be
fostered, used, and optimized
toward particular ends, via
non-coercive means
(persuasion, social pressure,
soft control)?

Government, for Foucault, is

any more or less calculated or
rational activity that seeks to
shape human conduct by
working through the desires,
aspirations, interests, and
beliefs of various actors to
achieve particular ends (Dean,
2011, p. 18).

Government Beyond the State

Any attempt to mold, shape,

direct the conduct of others
even by non-coercive,
persuasive means is an
exercise of government (i.e, a
bid to govern the conduct of
others).

Governmentality and Soft Power

Government (as opposed to
sovereignty and discipline) is
not about domination.
It operates in a third space
between coercion and
consent.
It is a soft form of power
mobilizing, enjoining, subtly
encouraging particular ways
of thinking about oneself and
ones conduct.

The ideal is
government at a
distance
To exercise influence over
others conduct via their
freely made choices.

The How of Government

Identification
of problems

The analysis of
government is the study
of programs (specific
initiatives) which aim to
change individual
behaviors or practices,
and which attempt to
encourage particular selfunderstandings
(subjectivities).

The utopian
goals of the
program

The means
of visibility
(data
collection
and analysis)

The
construction
of ideal or
stigmatized
subjects

The production
and application
of knowledge

The How of Government

A Debate over Problems and

Solutions
Competing Regimes of Government

How should the problem

be defined?
Who or what is responsible
for the problem? Whose
conduct is at issue?
What forms of conduct
need to be changed to
address the problem? What
needs to be done?

Two Competing Regimes of

Governance
Postwar Welfare State
Social responsibility
Individuals are shaped by
their environment
Programs of government
should aim to re-shape the
environment to encourage
particular behaviors.
Shape the context, shape the
behavior, address the
problem.

Neoliberalism
Personal responsibility
Individuals shape their own
environments.
Programs of government should
encourage competition/markets
and empower individuals to make
changes.
Put responsibility on individuals;
empower them to make changes,
and address the problem.

Two Competing Regimes

The Problem of Obesity
Postwar Welfare State
Improve school lunches
Restrict soda sizes in stores
Regulate nutrition content in
food marketed to kids
(Lunchables)

Neoliberalism
Educate consumers on
healthy options and choices
(Marketing campaigns and
PSAs)
Challenge individuals to take
responsibility (public/private
partnerships; workplace
fitness challenges; establish
financial rewards for losing
weight)

Discussion Questions
Charity TV: Does it bother you that ABCs Extreme Makeover Home Edition presented itself as Charity TV
while not paying for the renovations and generating advertising revenue from the show? Can
commercialism and charity coincide?
TV Interventions: Shows like Judge Judy, Dr. Phil, Supernany, and Honey Were Killing the Kids use
intrusive monitoring of participants and humiliation/shaming in order to add drama to the narrative of self
re-invention. What do you think about this use of hidden cameras and public humiliation? What is the
purpose of this surveillance and humiliation?
If you read carefully, you can detect a subtle critique of health communication campaigns which
focus on self-efficacy for solving health problems (like obesity). Instead, the authors imply, planners
should focus on shaping the environment (i.e., root causes) instead of focusing on encouraging
individuals to make better choices. How do you feel about this argument?
Makeover TV: Makeover shows promise that by working on the outside we can work on the inside and
transform ourselves into self-disciplined high achievers. In a flexible and insecure economy, we need view
ourselves as a project as Me, inc. and work on our branding and how we present ourselves to the
world. How much of this ethic of personal branding do you see in your network of friends and family? Do
people think of themselves as projects? What are the upsides and downsides of this model of personhood?

From the Welfare State to the

Enterprise Society - An Example of
Governmentality
The question of liberalism
How can a free society be
governed?
How can individual liberty and
the social order be
maintained simultaneously?
How can authorities govern
at a distance
The Friendly Visitor
Model of Social Work

The Postwar State of Welfare

The bargain of FDR

liberalism
If you work hard, love your
country, and exercise your
freedom responsibly, the
Great Society will take care
of you.

The Postwar State of Welfare

Expertise was brought into the
State. The idea was to manage
populations from a distance
via the tools of state planning.
The goal = to shape the physical
and social environment in ways
that subtly mold behavior and
improve the health and wellbeing of individuals and
communities.

The Critique of the Welfare State

Distant experts,
pursuing plans
without input from
local communities
inspired resistance
from across the
political spectrum.
The Welfare State
was critiqued as
bureaucratic,
arrogant, and
stifling.

The Neoliberal Program of

Empowerment

Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom.

Personal responsibility and

individualism
Markets are efficient and
competition enforces moral
discipline.
If you remove state
dependency, empower the
individual, and encourage
self-reliance and selfdiscipline, individuals will
make better choices.

Building the Enterprise Society

Empower (push responsibility onto)
Individuals

FEMA and
Emergency
Preparedness
A focus on
resiliency
Shelter in place
Get a kit, make a
plan, be informed.

Building the Enterprise Society

Use Markets to Mold Disciplined
Individuals
The argument
Creating markets
(competition)
disciplines
individuals and
encourages
(forces?) them to
become self-reliant
and make good
choices.

Building the Enterprise Society

Engage the Private Sector
Markets make private firms,
charities, and non-profits
more effective and efficient
than state agencies.
Initiatives at government
should therefore engage in
public-private partnerships,
where public money is used
to fund projects directed by
private partners.

Building the Enterprise Society

Nurture the Entrepreneurial Subject

The goal is to cultivate and

nurture the entrepreneurial
self, a subject who makes
good choices, who is selfdisciplined and self-reliant,
and who can compete for
resources in a marketplace.