Rationality and Power: Democracy in Practice (Flyvbjerg, 1998)

Rationality and Power: Democracy in Practice (Flyvbjerg, 1998)

"It makes an extremely strong, and to the reviewer's mind incontrovertible, argument for placing the analysis of planning within the context of power relations. As a result it will also make a significant mark on the development of planning theory." -Geographical Journal

"A book that is to be recommended doubly, first to all those engaged in planning and implementation in a democratic context, and also to all those interested in empirical power research. Rationality and Power is rewarding even enthralling reading, a seminal contribution to its field." -European Societies

"This book is a must for anyone interested in how planning works . . . a reality shock . . . excellent and illuminating." -International Planning Studies

JLJ - Flyvbjerg embarks on a project to understand a city's attempt to architect and re-plan its center - the Aalborg project - and ends up with a social science case study in politics, power, and rationality. What can we learn from his efforts? We peer into the inner workings of a governmental organization and into the power relations as they turn and grind - turning out the reality of a city in the process of re-inventing itself.

p.2 In the Enlightenment tradition, rationality is typically seen as a concept that is well-defined and context-independent. We know what rationality is, and rationality is supposed to be constant over time and place. This study, however, demonstrates that rationality is context-dependent and that the context of rationality is power.

p.6 Most important - and this I take to be the main contribution of Nietzsche and Foucault to the study of power and modernity - knowledge and power, truth and power, rationality and power are seen as analytically and politically inseparable, leaving the actual relationship between these phenomena open to empirical test.

p.3 Nietzsche and Foucault... are practical thinkers of power.

p.27 The rationality produced is actively formed by the power relations... Conversely, these power relations are supported by the rationality generated.

p.28 Power Defines Reality

p.141 In an open confrontation, actions are dictated by whatever works best to defeat the opponent.

p.182 Again we are reminded of Nietzsche's dictum, "Knowledge kills action; action requires the veils of illusion."

p.192 Rationality Needs Stability

p.206 Repetition is reality, and it is the seriousness of life. Soren Kirkegaard

p.227 power defines what counts as rationality and knowledge and thereby what counts as reality... power defines, and creates, concrete physical, economic, ecological, and social realities.

p.231 Power relations are constantly changing. They demand constant maintenance, cultivation, and reproduction.

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