Abstract
The article argues that the classic dilemma of government versus freedom, of collectivity versus individuality, has been intensified in ‘advanced’ liberal welfare states. We are witnessing a relentless creativity aimed at inventing new governmental technologies that can influence and direct the individual’s self-government without governing ‘too much’ or taking over responsibility. As a consequence, Foucault’s concepts of governmental technologies and self-technologies and their inter-relation have become a central, if not the central, analytical framework for contemporary critical analysis. The article clarifies the concepts these two concepts and gives examples of recent studies of the intertwinement of governmental technology and self-technology in the welfare state.
Translated title of the contribution | Power and Self-technology: Foucault’s Relevance for Current Welfare Studies? |
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Original language | Danish |
Journal | Tidsskrift for Velferdsforskning |
Volume | 10 |
Issue number | 3 |
Pages (from-to) | 156-167 |
Number of pages | 12 |
ISSN | 0809-2052 |
Publication status | Published - 2007 |