Political business governance
A Canadian philosopher has published a book that brings together business management methods with those of politics
Business management methods transferred to the sphere of politics and society. Mix-up of roles. A set of management techniques applied to unusual areas. This situation has now been acquired but it has not yet been as fully understood as it should. Business culture in areas that may not be appropriate ones. This is an important topic, also for “good” business culture. To understand this better, you should read “Governance. Il management totalitario” (Governance. Totalitarian management) written by Alain Deneault (a philosopher and Political Science teacher from Montreal) which has just been translated into Italian.
The book revolves around the term which gives it its title: governance. It begins with a premise: that: in the last quarter of the 20th Century, to describe and govern the running of organisations and business facilities, business theorists have resorted to using a term that, since as far back as the 16th Century, was a simple synonym for government: namely governance. In the early Eighties the term was introduced in public life on the pretext of establishing the need for sound management of State institutions and it became the “delightful name” of neoliberal State management, characterised by deregulation and privatisation of public services. But that is not enough. Because, in other words, according to the author, governance is a deliberately indefinite expression that expresses the new art of politics “without government”, in other words without that practice that presupposes a publicly debated policy.
Deneault then develops the concept of governance applied to politics through 50 chapters that each address a different aspect of the topic, starting from an assumption – “Reducing politics to a technique” -, and reaches another – “Turning nothing into a force” -, to which a conclusion is added, in the form of a question: “…But what do you propose?”. The middle of the book is an acute journey with scathing and often irreverent parts, which touch upon many aspects not only of civil life, but also of politics, governance techniques, the attitude of all of us in front of public services and our interests. And of course the relationship between companies and politics. This leads to a statement that specifies how the death of politics has given rise to the “an art of management”, that however clashes with the community.
Deneault thinks like a political philosopher and an acute observer of reality. We have already mentioned that Deneault’s reasoning is irreverent and scathing, yet in any case it is something that leaves a mark. You may not agree with it while reading it, but it is good for everyone, including entrepreneurs and managers, business culture and civil life.
Governance. Il management totalitario (Governance. Totalitarian management)
Alain Deneault
Neri Pozza, 2018
A Canadian philosopher has published a book that brings together business management methods with those of politics
Business management methods transferred to the sphere of politics and society. Mix-up of roles. A set of management techniques applied to unusual areas. This situation has now been acquired but it has not yet been as fully understood as it should. Business culture in areas that may not be appropriate ones. This is an important topic, also for “good” business culture. To understand this better, you should read “Governance. Il management totalitario” (Governance. Totalitarian management) written by Alain Deneault (a philosopher and Political Science teacher from Montreal) which has just been translated into Italian.
The book revolves around the term which gives it its title: governance. It begins with a premise: that: in the last quarter of the 20th Century, to describe and govern the running of organisations and business facilities, business theorists have resorted to using a term that, since as far back as the 16th Century, was a simple synonym for government: namely governance. In the early Eighties the term was introduced in public life on the pretext of establishing the need for sound management of State institutions and it became the “delightful name” of neoliberal State management, characterised by deregulation and privatisation of public services. But that is not enough. Because, in other words, according to the author, governance is a deliberately indefinite expression that expresses the new art of politics “without government”, in other words without that practice that presupposes a publicly debated policy.
Deneault then develops the concept of governance applied to politics through 50 chapters that each address a different aspect of the topic, starting from an assumption – “Reducing politics to a technique” -, and reaches another – “Turning nothing into a force” -, to which a conclusion is added, in the form of a question: “…But what do you propose?”. The middle of the book is an acute journey with scathing and often irreverent parts, which touch upon many aspects not only of civil life, but also of politics, governance techniques, the attitude of all of us in front of public services and our interests. And of course the relationship between companies and politics. This leads to a statement that specifies how the death of politics has given rise to the “an art of management”, that however clashes with the community.
Deneault thinks like a political philosopher and an acute observer of reality. We have already mentioned that Deneault’s reasoning is irreverent and scathing, yet in any case it is something that leaves a mark. You may not agree with it while reading it, but it is good for everyone, including entrepreneurs and managers, business culture and civil life.
Governance. Il management totalitario (Governance. Totalitarian management)
Alain Deneault
Neri Pozza, 2018