MICHEL FOUCAULT, info.

In reply to Doug's comments on Nazism and sovereign power:

I would have said that Nazism actually exemplifies the tendency of modern
society to rationalise and bureaucratise power.  Look at the way the death
camps operated:  this wasn't a spur of the moment decision - there was a
vast bureaucratic machine keeping these camps running.  True there was a
charismatic leader - but theoretically the party could have continued
without Hitler once it had consolidated power.

Also Foucault argues that sovereign power is 'excessive' - that it enacts
revenge against the transgressor in the form of a bloody and spectacular
act that displays the toatl power of the monarch.  The Nazis used a variety
of methods but were pretty sparing in making them so explicit (although I
admit they weren't all hidden either).  

I argue that Nazism was actually a modern form of power, albeit despicable.

Mark