Traces Foucault's distinctive commitment to "post-structuralism." Argues that under the influence of Nietzsche, Foucault's approach marks a distinct break with structuralism in several crucial aspects. What results is a materialist post-structuralism that is also distinctively different from the post-structuralism of Derrida, Lyotard, and Baudrilliard. Presents Foucault's account of neo-liberalism as an example of materialist post-structuralist analysis. (Contains 31 references.) (Author/PKP)