Kelly, Mark G.E., The Political Philosophy of Michel Foucault
ark G. E. Kelly’s The Political Philosophy of Michel Foucault delivers a promising exposition of what can possibly be conceived as political philosophy based on Foucault’s work that can be made coherent and applicable. Although such a project of producing a theory of power does not appear to be among Foucault’s primary objectives apparently because as a philosopher he would have wanted to keep his distance from traditional political theorists and be read “with new eyes,” that is, without the unnecessary intellectual baggage, Kelly still believes that it is a project that is attainable and within reach, and from it, a Foucaultian political philosophy can emerge without compromising Foucault’s uniqueness and distance from other intellectuals. Kelly hopes, of course, that this does not undermine Foucault’s original intentions, but he seeks to benefit readers by clarifying precisely where Foucault situates himself in the history of political thought. Kelly also claims that despite the fact that many have been inspired to give their commentaries on Foucault, especially on the issue of power, only a few authors dared to venture on telling something new, including addressing this issue of a potential coherent theory of power.2 Among the many misconceptions about Foucault, addressed by Kelly in his opening remarks, is the thought of associating him with “academic” and the “traditional” approaches or tendencies, ranging from disguised moral philosophies, to neo-Marxism, to philosophies that deliberately seek to indoctrinate certain anti-state ideologies. What Foucault’s work seeks to accomplish, Kelly says, is to “understand politics” by way of re-elaborating the notion of power and to “consciously [undertake] the role of an intervention in the political.”3 Although Foucault’s work without a doubt has far reaching “political” consequences, it practically revolves around the theme of how individuals may traverse within the given relations of power.