Governing the Present: Administering Economic, Social and Personal Life

“This book explores the nature and form of governmentality in an intriguing and challenging way. It asks how it is that some things appear as problems that need management and regulation. It explores what constitutes the basis of these ‘problems’ and the processes which underpin them. This is sociology at its best and the results are fascinating.”
Ulrich Beck, Universität Munchen

“Miller and Rose present analyses of the expanded modern controls over, and recognition of, the individual. The imagery comes from Foucault, the studies focus on the professional analysts, and the conclusions suggest comparisons with earlier time periods. The book will interest all those concerned with modern rationalized individualism.”
John Meyer, University of Stanford

“Over the last decade Peter Miller and Nikolas Rose have opened up a new continent in the social sciences, the material and discursive constitution of the modern individual human subject. Governing the Present is a brilliant account of this exploration. After it, social theory will never be the same again.”
Michel Callon, Centre de Sociologie de l'Innovation, Paris