The critique of political economy in The order of things: a reading of Michel Foucault based on Moishe Postone and Robert Kurz

Abstract

This article begins with an analysis of Michel Foucault's account of the introduction of the concept of labour into classical political economy. I argue that his analysis coincides with the historical specification of the concept of labour that is required by new interpretations of Marx's theory such as those of Moishe Postone and Robert Kurz. Moreover, such convergence offers similar conclusions about the functioning of capitalist society through the objectification of forms of social practice. In the remainder of the article I argue that Foucault's approach in the specific field of knowledge, far from presenting an analytical deficit, can yield important results, precisely because it withholds the link with both social processes and psychological dispositions, when investigating the epistemic mechanisms that condition theoretical activity. This approach is complementary to the focus on commodity fetishism privileged by Postone and Kurz.