A Foucauldian Analysis of Old Age and the Power of Social Welfare

Abstract

It is argued that the question of social welfare is a key, if often overlooked, component in the construction of power relations and identities in later life that can take its place next to debates on bioethics and consumer lifestyle. Foucault's (1977) claim, that identities are kept in place through the deployment of integrated systems of power and knowledge and a routine operation of surveillance and assessment, is critically examined in this context. Trends in social welfare in the United Kingdom are used as a case example that sheds light on wider contemporary issues associated with old age. Finally, implications for the creation of particular narratives about later life are discussed and grounded through Foucault's (1988) notion of "technologies of self."

Rethinking Risk and Ageing: Extending Working Lives

“…The emergence of a risk society in the UK has been successful because it has identified existential concepts such as self-responsibility, self-governance and self-care that are said to facilitate the extension of working lives (Phillipson, 2013). The regulation of personal conduct has shifted from being presented as a responsibility of the state to the responsibility of micro-level social actors such as 'older people' as 'consumers' (Biggs and Powell, 2001). The implications are profound for lines of social exclusion.…”

The Philosophical Language of Death and Power

“…In this context, statements and visibilities mutually condition one another -they become interdependent upon each other. Furthermore, Biggs and Powell (2001) claim that, historically, social work as a visible social practice has produced negative statements about older age as synonymous with dominant bio-medical assumptions of 'decline', whilst managerialist statements about assessment reinforce the power of the professional and decrease the power and voice of the client .…”

“…By the same effect, various social policy positions point professionals to seek out certain forms of knowledge which tend to reinforce the position of that policy and its associated languages in relation to the object form of study (Biggs and Powell, 2001). As part of this process, certain powerful voices increase their legitimacy, whilst other voices become silenced and delegitimized (Biggs and Powell, 2001). …”

“…However, it is the self-experience of subjects that can refute, deny and accept the 'truth' claims of bio-technology. In the case of lifestyles in popular culture, the active adoption of particular consumer practices, such as uses of bio-technology contributes to a narrative that is compensatory in its construction of self (Biggs and Powell, 2001). Thus, the recourse to the notion of technologies of self is capable of accommodating the complexity of the 'subject'.…”

Dementia and Guardianship: Challenges in Social Work Practice

“…Accordingly, the impact of health and social welfare structures, policies, and services can be viewed as crucial. In parallel with shifting discourses surrounding dementia and capacity, a succession of health and social welfare policy reforms have been implemented that have had an unprecedented impact on the way old age is socially constructed and services are delivered (Biggs & Powell, 2001;Webb, 2006). Trends in Australia have been profoundly influenced by globalisation and the rise of neoliberalism and new public management.…”