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The Agony of Politics: the Nietzschean Roots of Foucault's Thought

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2014

Leslie Paul Thiele
Leslie Paul Thiele*
Affiliation:
Swarthmore College
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Abstract

The politics of Michel Foucault remain controversial, mainly because they remain ambiguous. His critics charge that the ambiguity is symptomatic of a theory that fosters moral abandon and political impotence. This predicament is frequently attributed to Nietzsche's influence. I outline the critics' charges and investigate to what extent Foucault's thought evidences Nietzschean roots. Specifically, I examine Nietzsche's glorification of struggle and seek to demonstrate that a valorization of struggle constitutes the core of Foucault's political thought.

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Articles
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American Political Science Review , Volume 84 , Issue 3 , September 1990 , pp. 907 - 925
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 1990

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