First published in 1987. Our understanding of the nature of power in western societies is currently undergoing a major reassessment. The significance of this reassessment emerges forcefully through comparing the writings of the principal exponents of Critical Theory - Max Horkheimer, Herbert Marcuse and Jürgen Habermas - with those of Michel Foucault. Peter Miller suggests that these two traditions embody fundamentally distinct philosophical and sociological principles. He grounds his analysis in the concepts of domination (Critical Theory) and power (Foucault). Miller identifies the notion of subjectivity as central to a differentiation of the respective approaches of Critical Theory and Foucault. For Critical Theory it is the repression of subjectivity which provides the evidence of domination and the rationale for its critique, while for Foucault subjectivity in western societies is fabricated through power and linked to the deployment of specific knowledges. Miller shows that despite the achievements of Critical Theory in bringing to light the repressive nature of advanced industrial societies, its thinking is inadequate as a basis for future analysis and critique. He argues that Foucault’s genealogy of the modern subject, which highlights the role of the human sciences in its fabrication, is a more fruitful basis for charting and investigating the mode of operation of contemporary forms of power. The book includes a survey of all published works by Foucault, up to the time of his death in 1984, and commentaries on the writings of Max Horkheimer, Herbert Marcuse and Jürgen Habermas.

Power and domination are central concepts in social science yet, up to now, they have been undertheorized. This wide-ranging book guides students through the complexities and implications of both concepts. It provides systematic accounts of current debates about the dynamics and rationale of state power in an era of globalization, social citizenship and the significance of social movements. The contributions of Parsons, Giddens, Foucault, Mann, Arendt, Habermas and Castells are clearly set out and critically assessed.

This volume presents a critical analysis of sociological theorizing and power which enables the reader to grasp fully the nature of power, rule and domination in organizational life. By making use of the discussions he recorded at a construction site, the author brings the reader into contact with the everyday social world in which he locates his analysis of power and authority at both a structural and phenomenological level. This analysis is complemented by the author’s review of the literature on ‘theorizing’ by writers such as Wittgenstein, Blum, McHugh, Phillips and Cicourel; his examination of the ‘community power debate’ between authors such as Bachrach and Baratz and Dahl; and a survey of the literature on power in its organizational aspects by Weber, Simmel and the more contemporary work of Hickson.

The concept of power has played a fundamental role in critical reflection about society. However, even the most basic questions concerning the concept of power have been subject to ongoing debate. Examining the ways in which philosophers from Plato onwards have used the concept of power, Wartenberg develops a field theory of power that rejects many of the reigning assumptions made about power. Incorporating the insights of feminist theorists, he argues that power has a positive as well as a negative role to play in social relations. Arguing that an adequate theory of power needs to recognize a plurality of forms of power, the author uses the example of teaching to show the multiple ways in which power is a factor in social relationships. As an important corrective to the consensual and domination models, Wartenberg's field theory gives social theorists and philosophers a more adequate tool for thinking about the nature of power. Author note:Thomas E. Wartenbertis Associate Professor of Philosophy at Mount Holyoke College.

In this brilliant culmination of his seminal Powers Trilogy, now reissued in a twenty-fifth anniversary edition, Walter Wink explores the problem of evil today and how it relates to the New Testament concept of principalities and powers. He asks the question, "How can we oppose evil without creating new evils and being made evil ourselves?" Winner of the Pax Christi Award, the Academy of Parish Clergy Book of the Year, and the Midwest Book Achievement Award for Best Religious Book.