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Foucault and Political Reason: Liberalism, Neoliberalism, and Rationalities of Government, edited by Andrew Barry, Thomas Osborne, and Nikolas Rose. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1996. 278 pp. $45.00 cloth. ISBN: 0-226-03825-4. $17.95 paper. ISBN: 0-226-03826-2.
WILLIAM G. STAPLEs University of Kansas Staples@Ukans. edu
One would think that the last thing the world needs is another book about Michel Foucault. With much relief, I discovered that this collection of essays is not simply another exegesis of the late philosopher's work, but instead focuses rather specifically on his implied political theory. This volume seeks to introduce the reader to several political themes running through Foucault's writings and to offer "an analysis of political reason itself, of the mentalities of politics that have shaped our present, the devices invented to give effect to rule, and the ways that these have impacted upon those who have been the subjects of these practices of government" (p. 2). This is an ambitious agenda, and, on balance, the book succeeds well, despite some of its jargon and abstractions.
In their interesting introduction, the editors contend that traditional political theory has failed to comprehend the new political movements that have emerged following the collapse of...