Governmentality of Michel Foucault and Global Economic Crisis

Abstract

Michel Foucault explored that he called ‘governmentality’ or ‘rationality of government’ at the end of 1970"s. Foucault defined government as a form of activity aiming to shape, guide or affect the conduct of some person or persons. Governmentality or rationality of government means a way of thinking about the nature of the practice of government who can govern, what governing is, who is governed. Foucault applied this perspective of analysis to the different historical domains. Until seventeenth-century, governmentality associated with the idea of "reason of state" to establish the strong nation. In eighteenth-century, governmentality associated with the idea of liberalism for the purpose of security and prosperity of some person or persons. Recently, governmentality considered as a way of rethinking the rationality of government to keep the capitalism in the form of neo-liberalism.BR The changing notion of governmentality at the capitalist society is made by economic crises. Governmentality of "reason of state" was changed to the governmentality of liberalism by the notion that the state cannot control the market in that way we have to leave the market alone as it is. Governmentality of liberalism was changed to Keynesian economics and the principle of welfare state by the Great Depression in 1930"s. In 1970, neo-liberal hegemony was presented by the collapse of system of Bretton Woods. The crisis of sub-prime mortgage and European financial crisis have accelerated a shift in governmentality. The global financial and economic crisis started in 2008 called into question the economic system of liberalization and deregulation of the capital that was managed by global financial agencies. In the present global crisis, will there be any radical changes? Nation-state feel obliged to move into the economy to repair the collapse of economic system done by unregulated capitalism. At the same time, the dominant international financial agencies have to adjust to a new balance of global capitalism in the global governance.