‘Work-Welfare'and the Regulation of the Poor: The Pessimism of Post-Structuralism
- 1 July 1998
- journal article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Capital & Class
- Vol. 22 (2) , 35-53
- https://doi.org/10.1177/030981689806500105
Abstract
Through a concern with disciplinary power, post-structuralists have recently turned their attention to the discursive force of welfare in constituting the poor as docile and subservient populations. Far from representing a new and fruitful mode of radical analysis, it is argued that the idealism of the post-structuralist position produces a rigid determinism. Using the recent example of ‘work-welfare’ in Britain, the pessimism of this position is rejected by pointing to the continuing importance of resistance and opposition, while considering their wider significance for the analysis of welfare provision.Keywords
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