Michel Foucault throughout his second
lecture of Society Must Be Defended, holds a discourse on power, however
rather than adapting the traditional method of analyzing power following a hierarchical
method from higher levels to lower ones, he attempts to do the opposite,
analyzing it from lower level up as well as focusing on what he calls the “external”
view point; analyze power not by finding out who the man behind it is, “rather
by the target the aim the reason behind
it so more externally than internally focused”. [1]
Foucault sees power and sovereignty – which he later on discuss
in depth- differently than Hobbs – or Marxism - did thus dismissing
the principle of the one whole one entity saying “In this schema, the
Leviathan, being an artificial man, is no more than the coagulation of a
certain number of distinct individualities that find themselves united by a
certain number of the State's constituent elements.” He wants instead to study “the
multiple bodies constituting power-effect”, as he states. [2] Power
to him is a chain passing through all.
The theory of domination is Foucault’s alternative to the theory of
sovereignty – at least in the western societies- to him sovereignty in the 16th
and 17th century for example, was dangerous and created numerous
problems giving the example of the religion wars! As well as examples of the royal families
ruling within western societies where the “truth” was in the hands of the
king/royals “right is the right of the Royal command” He also talks further
more about seeing society as a one whole entity, against another “one other
entity” enemy and thus Instead of defending ourselves against the threats
posted upon us by the State, juridical system etc. it became about defending
society against threats of other ‘races’ as mentioned in the lecture.
In his third lecture he address the topic of War relating it to
power relations and sovereignty, he asks the following question “Who saw war
just beneath the surface of peace?”[3]
he talk about the Clausewitz's principle, in which he stats his belief on this
principle existence long before it became a “ principle” formally, “after all,
war is no more than a continuation of politics."[4] Later
on he discuss the centralization of power in the hand of the state, calling it
the state’s monopoly over war and relating it back to be a problem of the
theory of sovereignty previously mentioned in lecture II. law is the creation
of war Foucault says, however law does not necessarily facilitate an end to war,
and even the state of peace is a silenced struggle, to him war is a permanent state
of being.
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