The courage of subjectivation in personal recovery: Foucault’s unfinished business

Abstract

Recovery, a formerly personalised process has emerged as an institutionalised programme in the field of addiction since the beginning of the latest lingering crisis of global capitalism. The author based on the latest Foucauldian concept on subjectivation analyses the phenomenon of recovery. He reveals that courage is not just a virtue on the journey to recovery but a condition sine qua non. The author also examines the implications of the recovery agenda in view of the “courage to address and the courage to respond”, a stance which is a continuation of the essential ideas of subjectivation.