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Subjects of Government

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The Government of Childhood

Part of the book series: Studies in Childhood and Youth ((SCY))

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Abstract

As was discussed in Chapter 1, the concept of governmentality relates to a mode of exercising power, particularly relevant to liberal forms of rule, which is predicated upon the freedom of the governed. Liberalism depends upon the willingness and capacity of free individuals to choose to exercise responsible self-government — an important aspect of liberal government is therefore fostering responsible, self-directing subjects.1 Rose tells us that this is to be achieved through a range of different strategies many of which are not directly connected to centralised political power.2 There is a multifarious range of resources to be availed of to guide the ‘government of the self’, but within the governmentality literature particular importance is attributed to the forms of knowledge and expertise derived from the human sciences, especially those pre-fixed with ‘psy’.3

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Notes

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  1. Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland

    Karen M. Smith

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© 2014 Karen M. Smith

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Smith, K.M. (2014). Subjects of Government. In: The Government of Childhood. Studies in Childhood and Youth. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137312273_3

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