Foucault and Liberal Political Economy - Power, Knowledge, and Freedom

This book argues that the ideas of Michel Foucault, often considered the most influential 'post-modernist' thinker, are compatible with an important strain of liberal thought that values open markets, political decentralisation, and limited government. It shows how the respective traditions can be combined into a 'post-modern liberalism' critical of the expanding web of 'pastoral powers' acquired by contemporary welfare-regulatory states. As such, the book offers a highly original synthesis with multiple applications in contemporary public policy.

List of contents

• 1: Introduction: Foucault and Liberal Political Economy


• Part 1. The Elements of a Foucauldian Liberalism


• 2: The Death and Life of the Subject: Power, Agency, and Liberal Political Economy


• 3: Scientism, Science, and Expert Rule: Power/Knowledge and Liberal Political Economy


• 4: Freedom and Rights: Power/Knowledge and the Social Construction of Liberal Justice


• Part II. Foucauldian Liberalism and Social Critique


• 5: Bio-Power and the Political Economy of Inequality: The Social Justice Dispositif


• 6: Bio-Power and the Political Economy of Life and Death: The Public Health Dispositif


• 7: Bio-Power and the Political Economy of Ecological Order: The Sustainability Dispositif


• 8: Bio-Power and the Political Economy of Crime and Punishment: The Law and Order Dispositif


• Conclusion

About the author

Mark Pennington has been Professor of Political Economy and Public Policy in the Department of Political Economy, King's College, University of London, since 2012, and is currently Director of the Centre for the Study of Governance and Society. Prior to King's he taught for twelve years in the Department of Politics and International Studies at Queen Mary, University of London. He has a PhD from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Product details

• Authors: Mark Pennington, Mark (Professor of Political Economy a Pennington
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 02.09.2025
• EAN: 9780197690529
• ISBN: 978-0-19-769052-9
• No. of pages: 352
• Series: Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Philosophy > General, dictionaries; PHILOSOPHY / Social, PHILOSOPHY / Political, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Economics / General, PHILOSOPHY / History & Surveys / General, Social & political philosophy, social and political philosophy, Economic systems and structures, Economic systems & structures, Philosophical traditions and schools of thought, History of Western philosophy