Foucault the conservative

Foucault is normally classified as a radical postmodern, but there is a strong “conservative” thrust to his work on the prison and other “disciplinary” mechanisms of the early modern period. His attention is mainly on the social, architectural, and political mechanisms that break down traditional solidarities and thereby isolate individuals in order to dominate them, leaving them directly accountable to the state. This line of argument, which respects traditional forms of community and laments their breakdown, is a common theme of conservative writing. Foucault’s historicism is not inconsistent with this, as historicism has been an important theme in conservative thinkers like Burke, Kirk, and Oakeshott.