A devastating critique of the systems of power and control inherent in civilisation, from one of the most radical thinkers of the twentieth century.

Society Must Be Defended is taken from a series of lectures given by Foucault at the College de France in 1975-76. Using war to analyse power relations, he contended that politics is ultimately a continuation of battlefield violence, and that ingrained ideas of sovereignty and individual rights are attempts to refute the fact that all power relations are based on domination. Coloured with brilliant historical examples, Foucault draws from many periods in both England and France, with wonderful digressions into subjects as diverse as classical French tragedy and the gothic novel.