Michel Foucault and Government Centralization of Knowledge
Michel Foucault was a famous French philosopher who was known for his writings on power and knowledge. He created discourse analysis, and argued that within the creation of knowledge lies power. Discourse analysis makes us look at what is being said, by who, and most importantly who is benefiting from what is being said.
“There is no power relation without the correlative constitution of a field of knowledge, nor any knowledge that does not presuppose and constitute at the same time power relations” – Michel Foucault
The information we know, the lessons we are taught in school, the news we read, all are born out of power relations. We are living in a world of centralized knowledge, where the government has control over discourse creation and what we know. They create and circulate knowledge in order to gain and reinforce their power over us. The mass media lies and corporate ties are all a part of the government’s control over what we think and how we think.
How Steemit Represents a Resistance Movement
In Foucault’s words: “Where there is power, there is resistance”
I believe that Steemit is a resistance movement against this state monopoly over our own thoughts. We are taking the creation of knowledge into our own hands. The decentralized model of Steemit allows for each individual to speak their truths and to share their thoughts without the influence or control of the state. The lack of barriers to enter the site and become a contributor allow multiple thoughts to be heard from varied perspectives. We, the people, are truly creating our own knowledge through Steemit. We are taking power back from the state, and even more importantly, we are doing so in a non-violent manner.
A Belief in the Ability of Steemit to Decentralize Knowledge
I believe in the future of Steemit, and here is why:
“There are more ideas on earth than intellectuals imagine. And these ideas are more active, stronger, more resistant, more passionate than "politicians" think. We have to be there at the birth of ideas, the bursting outward of their force: not in books expressing them, but in events manifesting this force, in struggles carried on around ideas, for or against them. Ideas do not rule the world. But it is because the world has ideas (and because it constantly produces them) that it is not passively ruled by those who are its leaders or those who would like to teach it, once and for all, what it must think.” - Michel Foucault
Our ideas and our ability to create our own knowledge is stronger than the government knows, and stronger than we ourselves know! With that said, Steem on!
