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Foucault, Marxism, and History: Mode of Production Versus Mode of Information
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 27, 2026
This was an interesting read that went through Foucault’s experience in relation to the May 68 uprisings, and his development of the concepts of power, discourse and practice from archeology to genealogy. His thought is juxtaposed with Sartre, Guattari, Nietzsche and of course Marx (more often the Western Marxist tradition), among others.
The author Mark Poster does a good job of discussing limitations and more importantly advancements that Foucault’s work has achieved. He also critiques the limitations of Marxism as an emancipatory project (often mentioning liberalism in the same breath) and suggests that Foucault’s work enables a more precise reframing of domination as power/knowledge and discourse, that is not reducible to the mode of production alone.
Some of the later material on the ‘mode of information’ was a little dated, but the core discussions and writing are very helpful for those wishing to consider Foucault’s work as a tenet of critical theory. Poster does a good job of comparing and extrapolating the methods, principles and ideas that have formed Foucault’s work as well as many others, illustrating why, and albeit in a puzzlingly unorthodox way, Foucault provides a significant advancement (as well as sidestep) from Marxist critical theory.
The author Mark Poster does a good job of discussing limitations and more importantly advancements that Foucault’s work has achieved. He also critiques the limitations of Marxism as an emancipatory project (often mentioning liberalism in the same breath) and suggests that Foucault’s work enables a more precise reframing of domination as power/knowledge and discourse, that is not reducible to the mode of production alone.
Some of the later material on the ‘mode of information’ was a little dated, but the core discussions and writing are very helpful for those wishing to consider Foucault’s work as a tenet of critical theory. Poster does a good job of comparing and extrapolating the methods, principles and ideas that have formed Foucault’s work as well as many others, illustrating why, and albeit in a puzzlingly unorthodox way, Foucault provides a significant advancement (as well as sidestep) from Marxist critical theory.
May 9, 2026
foucault is a difficult person to translate from french to english, as far as my rabbit holes have told me. nevertheless: power.
marxism touches on one of these issues of power struggles between the working class and the bourgeois ruling class. and i think foucault captures this thought ive had my whole life but couldn't quite explain it until i came across his work: power isn't just top down-- power explains why i take a shower at night instead of morning. power is why i set an alarm. power is why i chose to read this book. power is what shaped my subject.
it blew my mind. the typed internal monologue would ramble on for pages.
anyway-- to the one (1) person who said this book seemed really good: thanks! i bought it in a second hand store
marxism touches on one of these issues of power struggles between the working class and the bourgeois ruling class. and i think foucault captures this thought ive had my whole life but couldn't quite explain it until i came across his work: power isn't just top down-- power explains why i take a shower at night instead of morning. power is why i set an alarm. power is why i chose to read this book. power is what shaped my subject.
it blew my mind. the typed internal monologue would ramble on for pages.
anyway-- to the one (1) person who said this book seemed really good: thanks! i bought it in a second hand store
March 20, 2007
این کتاب را دارم ترجمه می کنم .
پوستر استاد دانشگاه کالیفرنیاست
و این اثر هم قصد دارد کار فوکو را در جهت تکمیل نظریه انتقادی نشان دهد.
پوستر استاد دانشگاه کالیفرنیاست
و این اثر هم قصد دارد کار فوکو را در جهت تکمیل نظریه انتقادی نشان دهد.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews