4/13 "The Prison Notebooks" and "Truth and Power"

Michel Foucault explores the association between truth and power in society. Foucault notes in his article that “truth is produced and transmitted under the control, dominant if not exclusive, of great political and economic apparatuses” (Foucault). However, just because something comes from the source of a “dominant” apparatus, it cannot be instantly deemed as the “truth.” In fact, I see this as a possible method for higher-powered people to take advantage of their status to spread false information. Foucault’s observation that each society has its own “general politics of truth” based on the types of discourse it accepts relates to Stuart Hall’s concept of popular culture since in this case, the truth is what is validated by the people. Gramsci also discusses truth and power in relation to mass culture. He notes that in creating a new culture, it diffuses truths that have already been discovered. Thus, this conveys a similar message to Foucault in that power is in society’s acceptance of the truth. Prior to reading Gramsci’s article, I have never come across the word “hegemony” or “counterhegemony.” I’ve learned that hegemony is a type of social dominance, and political power rests on cultural hegemony.