The government of desire : a genealogy of the liberal subject

Liberalism, Miguel de Beistegui argues in __The Government of Desire__, is best described as a technique of government directed towards the self, with desire as its central mechanism. Whether as economic interest, sexual drive, or the basic longing for recognition, desire is accepted as a core component of our modern self-identities, and something we ought to cultivate. But this has not been true in all times and all places. For centuries, as far back as late antiquity and early Christianity, philosophers believed that desire was an impulse that needed to be suppressed in order for the good life, whether personal or collective, ethical or political, to flourish. Though we now take it for granted, desire as a constitutive dimension of human nature and a positive force required a radical transformation, which coincided with the emergence of liberalism. By critically exploring Foucault’s claim that Western civilization is a civilization of desire, de Beistegui crafts a provocative and original genealogy of this shift in thinking. He shows how the relationship betweenidentity, desire, and government has been harnessed and transformed in the modern world, shaping our relations with others and ourselves, and establishing desire as an essential driving force for the constitution of a new and better social order. But is it? __The Government of Desire__ argues that this is precisely what a contemporary politics of resistance must seek to overcome. By questioning the supposed universality of a politics based on recognition and the economic satisfaction of desire, de Beistegui raises the crucial question of how we can manage to be less governed today, and explores contemporary forms of counter-conduct. ​Drawing on a host of thinkers from philosophy, political theory, and psychoanalysis, and concluding with a call for a sovereign and anarchic form of desire, __The Government of Desire__ is a groundbreaking account of our freedom and unfreedom, of what makes us both governed and ungovernable.

Liberalism, Miguel de Beistegui argues in The Government of Desire, is best described as a technique of government directed towards the self, with desire as its central mechanism. Whether as economic interest, sexual drive, or the basic longing for recognition, desire is accepted as a core component of our modern self-identities, and something we ought to cultivate. But this has not been true in all times and all places. For centuries, as far back as late antiquity and early Christianity, philosophers believed that desire was an impulse that needed to be suppressed in order for the good life, whether personal or collective, ethical or political, to flourish. Though we now take it for granted, desire as a constitutive dimension of human nature and a positive force required a radical transformation, which coincided with the emergence of liberalism.By critically exploring Foucault's claim that Western civilization is a civilization of desire, de Beistegui crafts a provocative and original genealogy of this shift in thinking. He shows how the relationship betweenidentity, desire, and government has been harnessed and transformed in the modern world, shaping our relations with others and ourselves, and establishing desire as an essential driving force for the constitution of a new and better social order. But is it? The Government of Desire argues that this is precisely what a contemporary politics of resistance must seek to overcome. By questioning the supposed universality of a politics based on recognition and the economic satisfaction of desire, de Beistegui raises the crucial question of how we can manage to be less governed today, and explores contemporary forms of counter-conduct.?Drawing on a host of thinkers from philosophy, political theory, and psychoanalysis, and concluding with a call for a sovereign and anarchic form of desire, The Government of Desire is a groundbreaking account of our freedom and unfreedom, of what makes us both governed and ungovernable.

Liberalism, Miguel de Beistegui argues in The Government of Desire , is best described as a technique of government directed towards the self, with desire as its central mechanism. Whether as economic interest, sexual drive, or the basic longing for recognition, desire is accepted as a core component of our modern self-identities, and something we ought to cultivate. But this has not been true in all times and all places. For centuries, as far back as late antiquity and early Christianity, philosophers believed that desire was an impulse that needed to be suppressed in order for the good life, whether personal or collective, ethical or political, to flourish. Though we now take it for granted, desire as a constitutive dimension of human nature and a positive force required a radical transformation, which coincided with the emergence of liberalism. By critically exploring Foucault's claim that Western civilization is a civilization of desire, de Beistegui crafts a provocative and original genealogy of this shift in thinking. He shows how the relationship between identity, desire, and government has been harnessed and transformed in the modern world, shaping our relations with others and ourselves, and establishing desire as an essential driving force for the constitution of a new and better social order. But is it? The Government of Desire argues that this is precisely what a contemporary politics of resistance must seek to overcome. By questioning the supposed universality of a politics based on recognition and the economic satisfaction of desire, de Beistegui raises the crucial question of how we can manage to be less governed today, and explores contemporary forms of counter-conduct. ​Drawing on a host of thinkers from philosophy, political theory, and psychoanalysis, and concluding with a call for a sovereign and anarchic form of desire, The Government of Desire is a groundbreaking account of our freedom and unfreedom, of what makes us both governed and ungovernable. Whether as economic interest, sexual drive, or the basic longing for recognition, desire is accepted as a core component of our modern selfidentities, and something we need to cultivate. But as Miguel de Beistegui charts in The Government of Desire, this has not been true in all times and all places. For centuries, as far back as late antiquity and early Christianity, philosophers believed that desire was an impulse that needed to be suppressed in order for the good life, whether personal or collective, ethical or political, to flourish. Though we now take it for granted, it was only in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that the naturalization of desire took place, and the pillars of the liberal self and form of government were erected. By critically exploring Foucault's claim that Western civilization is a civilization of desire, de Beistegui crafts a provocative and original genealogy of this shift in thinking. He shows how the relationship between identity, desire, and governance has been harnessed and transformed in the modern world, shaping our relations with others and ourselves, and establishing desire as an essential driving force for the constitution of a new and better social order. But is it? The Government of Desire argues that this is precisely what a contemporary politics of resistance must seek to overcome, questioning the supposed universality of a politics based on recognition and the economic satisfaction of desire Title Page 4 Copyright 5 Epigraph 6 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Introduction: Why Desire? 12 Part One: Homo Oeconomicus 40 1 The Birth of Homo Oeconomicus 42 2 Man’s “Vain and Insatiable Desires,” or the “Oeconomy of Greatness” 56 3 Neoliberal Governmentality 74 Part Two: Homo Sexualis 94 4 “Abnormal Desires” and “Barbarous Instincts”: The Birth of the Sexual Pervert 96 5 Instincts or Drives? The Birth of Psychoanalysis 122 Part Three: Homo Symbolicus 152 6 Recognition, That “Most Ardent Desire” 154 7 Struggles for Recognition 182 8 The Consolations of Recognition 198 Conclusion: Desire, Again . . . 220 Notes 240 Bibliography 278 Index 300 Introduction : Why Desire? -- Part One. Homo Oeconomicus. The Birth Of Homo Oeconomicus -- Man's Vain And Insatiable Desires, Or The Oeconomy Of Greatness -- Neoliberal Governmentality -- Part Two. Homo Sexualis. Abnormal Desires And Barbarous Instincts : The Birth Of The Sexual Pervert -- Instincts Or Drives? : The Birth Of Psychoanalysis -- Part Three. Homo Symbolicus. Recognition, That Most Ardent Desire -- Struggles For Recognition -- The Consolations Of Recognition -- Conclusion : Desire, Again. Miguel De Beistegui. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 229-288) And Index. Intro -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction: Why Desire? -- 1. The Birth of Homo Oeconomicus -- 2. Man's "Vain and Insatiable Desires," or the "Oeconomy of Greatness"--3. Neoliberal Governmentality -- 4. "Abnormal Desires" and "Barbarous Instincts": The Birth of the Sexual Pervert -- 5. Instincts or Drives? The Birth of Psychoanalysis -- 6. Recognition, That "Most Ardent Desire" -- 7. Struggles for Recognition -- 8. The Consolations of Recognition -- Conclusion: Desire, Again ... -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index Relying on Foucault as well as on Deleuze and Guattari, de Beistegui highlights the need to elaborate a politics of difference and creation, raising the crucial question of how can we manage to be less governed today and positing strategic questions of possible contemporary forms of counter-conduct.