Witnessing the violence of late capitalism: Foucault as a guide for Christian faithfulness [Book Review]

Abstract

Over the past decade a number of influential philosophers from the Continental tradition have turned to the letters of Paul, the Early Church Fathers, and Christian theology more broadly to examine the modern political subject, democratic governance and liberal economy. Recent works by Giorgio Agamben, Alain Badiou and Slavjo Žižek have contributed to a growing theopolitical literature and re-engagement of philosophy and theology. It is in this context that T & T Clark’s Philosophy and Theology series is situated. While including titles on Kant, Hegel, Kierkegaard and Nietzsche and their respective relations to theology, the series also addresses more recent contributions from Vattimo, Derrida, Agamben and Žižek. An important, yet perhaps uncomfortable, inclusion to this series is Michel Foucault. Foucault is an important inclusion due to his profound and sustained influence on contemporary political philosophy, sociology, critical theory and gradually, theology. However, Foucault is also an awkward inclusion. Unlike the philosophers already mentioned, Foucault did not directly engage theology or the Christian tradition for theological purposes. This is not to suggest Foucault has nothing to contribute to theology. As Jonathan Tran’s Foucault and Theology demonstrates, there are number of lines of thought, tensions and disputes worthy of careful inquiry.