Microphysics of economic power - a postmodern contribution to the traditional problems of political economy

NICOLÁS DVOSKIN

Witten

Conferencia; II Philosophy, Politics and Economics Conference; 2017

Universität Witten / Herdecke

In this paper we aim to explore the possibility of including Michel Foucault?s analytical categories ?especially those exposed in History of sexuality and Microphysics of power- and Gilles Deleuze?s and Michel Foucault?s analysis of contemporary societies ?for example, Deleuze?s PS on control societies or Anti-Oedipus, with Félix Guattari, or Foucault?s Defend the society or The birth of biopolitics- as tools that can make contributions to economic theories.Hence, in this paper we intend to pursue a foucaultian / deleuzean reading of some of the economic theories that nowadays command the economic thought (namely, neoclassical and Marxist schools), assuming that most economic theories establish their laws based on the idealization of some kind of society. Therefore, Foucault?s theoretical categories will help us analyze both neoclassical and Marxist discourses and Foucault?s biopolitics and Deleuze?s control societies might become the description of the current societies, thus, the beginning of a new economic theory. This task ?specially, the second part of it- includes the recognition of the possible immeasurabilities ?using Thomas Kuhn?s division of scientific paradigms- between the economic schools mentioned above and Foucault and Deleuze. As even the definitions of economic laws or cause-effect relations are put into question by postmodern philosophers, we will make an effort to establish a dialogue between schools of thought that might ?speak different languages?.