The Myth of Sisyphus – A Political tool in Corporate Power Play

 "Sisyphean task"

As a punishment from the gods for his trickery, Sisyphus was made to roll a huge boulder up a steep hill, but before he could reach the top of the hill, the rock would always roll back down, forcing him to begin again. The maddening nature of the punishment was reserved for Sisyphus due to his hubristic belief that his cleverness surpassed that of Zeus. As a result when Sisyphus was condemned to his punishment, Zeus displayed his own cleverness by binding Sisyphus to an eternity of frustration with the boulder rolling away from Sisyphus when he neared the top of the hill.

Since Sisyphus was bound to an eternity of frustration – his myth stopped there – he would then be often referred to in other myths if the need to signify Zeus’ superiority over man and other gods arises.

In Michel Foucault’s writings on Power Relation and Structuralism – he subtly concluded a clearer ending to the Myth of Sisyphus – so subtle that the suggestions are almost impossible to incorporate to the myth. I will reword the explanation with my own personal interpretation. It was implied that during the Sisyphean Task, Sisyphus never complained, he never even tried to stop to rest or actualize the larger intention of defying Zeus; instead, he obligingly carried on the task scheduled for eternity. With this Zeus got bored with the lack of diversity and eventually released Sisyphus.

There is a simple logical representation of Foucault’s Power Relation – that “Power cannot exist in the absence of Resistance” in line with the ancient theory of opposite by Hiraclitus – the claim that a being’s existence is dependent entirely on its opposite.   

Albert Camus, in his 1942 essay The Myth of Sisyphus, saw Sisyphus as personifying the absurdity of human life, but Camus concludes "one must imagine Sisyphus happy" as "The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man's heart."

The Signified Power

In a university football field there is a Military Drill every Sunday – to some it’s ROTC to some it’s a living hell. The Officer shouted “Ten… hut” out of the 300 soldiers – some wannabes, some dying to go home and sleep it out – 299 stood as straight as electronically leveled lamp posts, 1 slacked it off and gave the officer the finger. The slacker was then punished to stay for the afternoon drill and was left alone in the sun while his classmates were sent home. The officer said – “That is what you get for not recognizing my power”

Using the Sisyphean Task and Foucault’s explanation of power relation through the ancient philosophy of opposites, who do you think signified the Officer’s power. Was it the all willing battalion of soldiers? Or was it the slacker who got extra sunburn?