Financial education and power: From Michel Foucault's perspective

Educación financiera, gubernamentalidad y subjetivación: una aproximación foucaultiana al poder en la formación del sujeto económico

Published 2026-10-07


https://doi.org/10.30554/lumina.v27.n1.5608.2026
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Vol. 27 No. 1 (2026): Lúmina 27(1)
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Artículos de reflexión
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MAZZEI PÉREZ, O. J. (2026). Financial education and power: From Michel Foucault’s perspective. Lúmina, 27(1), 27-1. https://doi.org/10.30554/lumina.v27.n1.5608.2026
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MAZZEI PÉREZ, O. J. (2026). Financial education and power: From Michel Foucault’s perspective. Lúmina, 27(1), 27-1. https://doi.org/10.30554/lumina.v27.n1.5608.2026

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OSCAR JOSÉ MAZZEI PÉREZ
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OSCAR JOSÉ MAZZEI PÉREZ,

Lcdo. En Contaduría Pública

Cursante de la XVII corte del doctorado en ciencias contables de la ULA- Venezuela

Espacialista en Tributos

Financial education is currently presented as a key tool for citizens' empowerment and economic autonomy. Under discourses of inclusion and individual responsibility, it is promoted as a technical and neutral solution to everyday economic problems. However, from a Foucauldian perspective, this article problematizes financial education as a power device that participates in the production of subjectivities aligned with rationality. Therefore, it seeks to analyze the power relations implicated in financial education through Michel Foucault's theoretical approach. Methodologically, a qualitative documentary strategy is adopted, based on the content analysis of key Foucault texts and specialized secondary literature. As a general conclusion, the study argues that financial education not only transmits knowledge but also shapes behaviors and subjectivities from a logic of efficiency, self-control, and individual responsibility. This analysis makes it possible to visualize the subtle forms of disciplining that operate in educational and economic contexts, questioning the apparent neutrality of financial discourses and highlighting their role in normalizing functional ways of life.

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