The Will to Empower: Democratic Citizens and Other Subjects

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Drawing on theories of power and the creation of subjects, Cruikshank argues that individuals in a democracy are made into serf-governing citizens through the small. scale and everyday practices of voluntary associations, reform movements, and social service programs. She argues that our empowerment is a measure of our subjection rather than of our autonomy from power. Through a close examination of several contemporary American 'technologies of citizenship" -- from welfare rights struggles to philanthropic self-help schemes to the organized promotion of self-esteem awareness -- she demonstrates how social mobilization reshapes the political in ways largely unrecognized in democratic theory. Although the impact of a given reform movement may be minor, the techniques it develops for creating citizens far extend the reach of governmental authority.Combining a detailed knowledge of social policy and practice with insights from poststructural and feminist theory, The Will to Empower shows how democratic citizens and the political are continually recreated.