Foucault News

Tilleczek, William. “On the Ownership of the Means of Training: Domination, Asceticism, and Capacities of Resistance.” Theory & Event 26, no. 4 (2023): 701-726. https://doi.org/10.1353/tae.2023.a909213.

Abstract:
This article argues that asceticism—understood in the etymological sense of “training”—can productively be incorporated into analyses of politics. It is of particular use in thinking through questions of inequality and domination. I first theorize askesis as dynamogenic, that is, productive of (political and ethical) capacities. Using case studies of Ancient Athens and twentieth century India, I then analyze askesis as a tool for producing and resisting domination, and suggest the political importance of taking control of “the means of training.” I conclude with reflections on the significance of this framework for understanding neoliberal ethics and rising fascist tendencies.

Dean, J.
From solidarity to self-promotion? Neoliberalism and left politics in the age of the social media influencer (2023) Capital and Class

DOI: 10.1177/03098168231199907

Abstract
The aim of this article is to map the contested intersections of influencer culture and left/progressive politics within the current conjuncture. Furthermore, drawing on a combination of Gramscian and Foucaultian insights, the article considers the implications of these intersections for how we theorise the relationship between neoliberalism and left politics. In so doing, my argument is threefold.

First, I suggest that social media influencers and influencer activists have turned to various forms of left politics as a means of establishing a distinctive personal brand, and heightening their social media clout. Second, I suggest that these developments have been met with something of a backlash among some left commentators, wary of the superficiality – and privileging of self-promotion over solidarity – that influencer activism entails, in keeping with a broader disaffection with what some consider to be the excessively individualistic flavour of contemporary forms of online ‘identity politics’. Third, I note that left critics of influencer activism often posit a distinction between ‘proper’ – that is, materialist, solidaristic – left politics, on one hand, and superficial, individualistic influencer activism, on the other. But, drawing on a conception of neoliberalism inspired by Foucault’s 1979 lectures, I suggest that, in a neoliberal digital capitalist context, this distinction becomes hard to sustain. This argument has two further implications. First, it becomes very difficult to extricate oneself from the imperatives of neoliberal digital culture, even if one is politically opposed to neoliberalism; and, second, the figure of the social media influencer, far from being exceptional or anomalous, is merely a more overt or extreme manifestation of logics that are already endemic in contemporary cultural and political life. © The Author(s) 2023.

Author Keywords
celebrity; identity politics; influencer culture; left politics; neoliberalism; social media

Stewart Clegg and Johan Ninan, Unravelling governmentality in project ecologies (2023) Project Leadership and Society, 4,

DOI: 10.1016/j.plas.2023.100099

Abstract
Under the rubric of project governance, governmentality has been defined as a general mode of governing people in projects, whether these projects are organized in an authoritarian, liberal, or neo-liberal mode in their approach to authority relations. We argue that governmentality is a specifically neo-liberal form of social integration, one that stresses the freedom of its subjects, and discuss how it extends governance beyond enforcing contracts and includes all stakeholders. Examples of governmentality in the modern era of projects are discussed as a proactive strategy conceptualized in five contexts in which the concept of governmentality, as governing through freedoms, has been applied in project ecologies. These include governance by contract, governance by alliancing, governance by influence, governance by co-optation, and governance by incorporation. The degree of governmentality in play increases through the sequence. © 2023 The Authors

Author Keywords
East Kimberley Clean Energy project; Foucault; Governmentality; Neo-liberal; Project governance; Rio Tinto