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From: Phil Ryan <philip_ryan@xxxxxxxxxxx>
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Date: Wed, 31 Jul 2002 10:11:21 -0400
> I don't think Foucault anywhere wishes to 'escape' from the negative
> view of power; power has its negative elements BUT NOT ONLY THOSE, it is
> also productive.
My original formulation led to some confusion: by "negative," I was referring
not to one's evaluation of this or that manifestation of power, but to power as
"saying no." Foucault recognized this as one dimension of power, but I think he
felt that his specific contribution was in showing how much more there is to
power than this.
This leads to a different sense of "positive" and "negative": you can have a
very "negative" evaluation of the "positive" ways in which capitalist marketing
(for example) shapes us.
Phil