Accidental Participation in Control, in the Small of Society

Abstract

The concept of “control society” arises from the post-structural formulations of a group of late 20th century philosophers and social theorists whose investigations into particular institutions in society show how definable regimes of thought and rationality come into being and become “normal”. These studies provide models that, when taken together, gesture toward an encompassing regime of thought, rationality and institutionalised action over Western society – what has been called “control society”. However, with few exceptions, studies of control environments take a high and abstracted view of the possibilities immanent in such a consolidation of rational regimes of thought and action. This paper responds to this gap in the literature to show how individuals participate in the accidental production of elements of “control” through their actions in the small, inter-institutional spaces of society.