000			02037nam a22001937a 4500
005			20230811175154.0
008			230322b ||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
020			_a9781479829934
082			_a320.01 _bLEM
100			_aLemke, Thomas _913341
245			_aThe Government of things: _bfoucault and the new materialisms
260			_bNew York University Press _aNew York _c2021
300			_a301 p.
365			_aUSD _b30.00
520			_aMaterialism, a rich philosophical tradition that goes back to antiquity, is currently undergoing a renaissance. In The Government of Things, Thomas Lemke provides a comprehensive overview and critical assessment of this “new materialism”. In analyzing the work of Graham Harman, Jane Bennett, and Karen Barad, Lemke articulates what, exactly, new materialism is and how it has evolved. These insights open up new spaces for critical thought and political experimentation, overcoming the limits of anthropocentrism. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s concept of a “government of things”, the book also goes beyond new materialist scholarship which tends to displace political questions by ethical and aesthetic concerns. It puts forward a relational and performative account of materialities that more closely attends to the interplay of epistemological, ontological, and political issues. Lemke provides definitive and much-needed clarity about the fascinating potential—and limitations—of new materialism as a whole. The Government of Things revisits Foucault’s more-than-human understanding of government to capture a new constellation of power: “environmentality”. As the book demonstrates, contemporary modes of government seek to control the social, ecological, and technological conditions of life rather than directly targeting individuals and populations. The book offers an essential and much needed tool to critically examine this political shift.
650			_aPolitical science--Philosophy _913342
650			_aPolitical and social views _913343
942			_2ddc _cBK
999			_c3960 _d3960