From Marx to Nietzsche? Neo-Conservatism, Foucault, and Problems in Contemporary Political Theory

Abstract

A strong current of political conservatism has swept through the West in the past decade. Not only have conservative political parties come to power in a range of countries, but they have done so in a political climate that shows obvious tendencies towards ideological realignment. With the seeming dissolution of Keynesianism, which in the post-1945 period was in some degree accepted by conservative parties as well as by social-democratic ones, conservative parties have not only swept to power, they have done so under the aegis of a revitalised and radical conservatism. It is possible, I think, to exaggerate the long-term import of such a phenomenon. After all, it is only something over ten years since the days of the efflorescence of the New Left. If the New Left appears positively old hat, one must not forget the feelings of many at the time — both among those who held strongly hostile attitudes as well as among its supporters — that profound changes were occurring in the fabric of the industrialised countries. So we should be careful about over-generalising in the light of a few years’ experience. In my opinion, the social sciences in the postwar period have been particularly prone to this tendency. On the basis of a decade and a half of rising growth rates, and relatively stable ‘consensus politics’ in the Western liberal democracies, the most grandiose ‘theories of industrial society’ were created, projecting an indefinite future of progressive expansion.