Power (according to Foucault)

From Geography

According to Foucault power is everywhere. ‘Relationships of power’ exist everywhere and everyone can execute power. It’s difficult to point out a general master of principal because the power gets internalized by individuals.
Foucault gives the Panopticon (by Bentham) as example to prove this point: in this round prison the prisoners are always watched by the guard, while the prisoners can’t see eachother, only the guard. A power difference exists between the prisoners and the guard. After a while, even when the guard isn’t there, the prisoners always feels like they’re under surveillance. The prisoners internalized the guard and always acted as if they were being watched. The power becomes a invisible structure.
Because power is everywhere, one is never free of power. It is enclosed in all relationships.

Power isn’t always negative according to Foucault. It also makes things possible and doesn’t always have to work with restrictions and punishment. But Foucault asks himself the question: how can we respond to power is a responsive way?

References:

Foucault, M. (1983). Beyond structuralism and hermeneutics. Second edition. The university of Chicago Press.

Hall, S. (2001). Foucault: Power, Knowledge and Discours. in Taylor, S., Wetherell, M. & Yates, S.J. (2001). Discourse Theory and Practice. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.