Ideology of Michel Foucaults Panopticon - Coursework Example

Name: Professor: Course: Date of Submission: Introduction Word panopticon comes from two Greek words “pan” which means “all” and “optikon” which means “for sight” (“Panopticon”). Panopticon is a structure that is circular in shape and designed in a manner that it can be controlled from a single central point (“Panopticon”). The structure designed in this manner is the one that potentially requires surveillance. Such structures include hospitals, prisons, Libraries and other surveillance buildings. Such a building was first was conceptualized by Jeremy Bentham in 1791. The initial building was a circular concrete building with glass roofing. The cells in the building faced a single rotunda, which was placed at the centre of the building. Wardens were kept at that central point to monitor prisoners who were in cell encircling the rotunda (“Panopticon”). In his book, Discipline and Punish published in 1975, Michel Foucault, A French philosophers emphasized the idea of panopticon of Jeremy Bentham. He explained the structure and its relevance to power. This led to the rise of panopticism, a view that was applied in hospitals and prisons. In the book (Foucault 195-228), he describes an analogy of how a town can deal with a plague effectively. He affirms his idea by referring to Bentham’s panopticon. He goes on to explain two ways of exercising power over people and thus controlling them. The ways are exiling the victims or arresting the situation. He proceeds to indicate that panopticon mechanisms are the best in constant monitoring, as he is being observed hence trapped. A victim cannot see the supervisor but the supervisor sees him. The victim cannot mingle with other hence, total order in the institution is ensured. This mechanism of control ensures routine execution of control. This is done through two approaches, which are “being visible” and “being unverifiable”. Concerning visibility, inmate has a constant presence of the tall central tower where the supervisor observes him. On matters of being unverifiable, the inmate cannot know he is being observed at any given time. He is sure that he may be observed though. This is emphasized by absence of the shadow of the supervisor, which would indicate his movements. Therefore, the inmate feels the supervisor as omnipresent. This mechanism ensures total and effective control of the inmate. Michel Foucault was a proponent of the panopticon theory and the father of panopticism. He based the theory on Bentham’s panopticon. This view is prevalent in the contemporary institutions and societies. It is a fundamental representation of power, and the association of that power between the persons and organizations. Foucault describes this approach of manifestation of power as an illustration of control condensed into its ultimate outline. This paper tries to show how this ideology of Michel Foucault’s panopticon and how it relates to the modern organizations and societies as they try to exercise their power and influence. The power is manifested in different activities carried out by these organizations. Whenever someone goes, he is being watched and monitored constantly. In most cases, the person may not be aware that he is being spied. This paper therefore tries to describe instances of such secret monitoring by different organizations in modern society. Panopticism and Government Surveillance Governments constantly watch over their citizens and immigrants. This is to monitor their activities and judge their motives. Laws are passed that help the governments to implement this approach in monitoring citizens. A good example of such a government is the US. The country faced a disastrous terroristic attack in New York City on 11th September, 2001. A global terrorist group called Al-Qaeda (History.com Staff) carried out the attacks. This led to fast and radical changes in the privacy law of the country. An act was passed to curb terrorism in 2001. The act is commonly called USA PATRIOT Act (Walter-Echols 9-18). The Act gives the Federal Bureau of Investigations power to intercept any communication carried across electrical wires, orally passed, or other electronic means. Any information regarding a person and might be important in connection to a certain offense is also accessed without consent of the victim. This makes citizens of the country to be always careful in their activities as they feel the invisible power of the government. Criminals and general citizens are always in constant monitoring of CCTV cameras by state machinery. Their activities are recorded. In case they may commit a crime, they are always tracked prosecuted due to their activities. This approach is used by police forces and other security agencies to track down criminals. The criminals always feel watched although they cannot tell who is watching them. World Superpower nations assert their influence through panoptic mechanisms. One of them is by use of Foreign Affairs offices in various countries. These officers act as watchdogs for any activity that might lead to conflict of their native countries in host nations. Another example is use of advanced scientific technology. There is a large number of satellites in earth’s orbit (Union of Concerned Scientists). These satellites have been used by host countries to monitor activities of other nations. This aids in asserting its power and checking any potential threats to its supremacy. Other nations always feel watched and their activities monitored. This makes them please the big nations. This shows how panopticism acts in controlling other nations. Intergovernmental organizations also employ their power through the same mechanisms. There various non-governmental organizations and UN bodies working in different nations. They monitor activities of the countries they operate. This makes the host nations feel watched although there is no such physical assertion as the organizations work in background. This therefore shows that governments use panopticism to carry out its operations and activities. Panopticism in Social Media The usage of social media has grown in the modern world. The number of users on social sites like Facebook, twitter, YouTube and other social sites is high. Social sites have been used to carry out mobilization as of the case of Iranian elections in 2009 as reported in Reuters (Pleming). Social sites have also been a great tool in carrying out the Arab Spring. Despite their good value in today’s life, these sites provide a volume of our personal information, which could be private. Facebook for instance, can be used to monitor people and their activities (Trottier 323-324). Due to its high volume of personal information, it makes it effective to monitor and track people in a given country. Some countries like USA, Egypt, and UK have legislations that allow them to use these social sites to prosecute criminals (Bowcott & Ball). Therefore, these social sites acts as our monitors on what we share, when we share it, and with who do we share it. The monitoring is done in passive mode so that the social media user is not aware of any surveillance. Social media controls what is shared. Any prohibited material such as pornography and copyrighted materials are constantly monitored and limited. The user’s activities are always stored and can be retrieved for use by the social media companies. Therefore, these companies monitor and control us without our knowledge. They employ panopticon mechanism to monitor our activities. Panopticism in Telecommunication Services The use of mobile phones is widespread in the modern world. Many people, if not all are in possession of mobile phones. The mobile phone service providers always monitor the activities of their subscribers (Cohen). The mobile phone companies keep a track of our locations each time. The calls we make, messages we send and these companies always record other private information. Although they do not divulge this information, they are always monitoring us although we do not see it physically. At times, these companies may be forced by state to divulge such information for prosecution purposes. You can imagine the kind of strong evidence they may provide if its relevant. They act as private investigators who are our closest friend. Therefore, it is evident that mobile phone service providing companies employ panopticon mechanism to monitor our activities. Panopticism in General Society The society constantly observes its members. Although you will not practically see someone monitoring you, you will always feel that someone is checking over you in background. Friends and family members always monitor our activities. They always ensure we are okay. There physical presence may not be felt but the remarks they make like “you have added weigh” always inform us they have been watching us. Although their intention is to ensure we are ok, this displays the idea of panopticon mechanism in managing us. Another instance is living a healthy lifestyle. People always want to live a healthy life so that they can be viewed as physically fit. This refers to Foucault’s idea that visibility is a trap. People eat healthy foods and do exercises so that other people can view them as fit. Therefore, there is always an hidden power that monitors our lifestyle activities through the general public. This applies the idea of panopticism in the modern society. Panopticism in Internet Service Provision Network service management is prevalent in modern era. Internet service providers monitor the content that the clients view. All devices in a network connection are connected to a central point - the internet (Winokur). The devices therefore are as if they are surrounding the internet with it acting as the central tower. Internet service providers manage the central tower, which is the internet. They therefore manage the internet services. They determine what the users access and how they access it. They also hold information of the users in specialized devices called servers. With these servers, they control the information being passed and how it is passed. They also allocate IP addresses to the clients, which indicate their locations and monitor any movements of these devices when they are in use. However, the internet clients do not physically observe this power but they do feel its presence. They therefore view it as omnipresent power of the provider. In addition, network administrators participate in monitoring network users. They configure the servers in a manner that they control what is accessed, who accesses it, and when it is accessed. The users cannot access materials or resources that are not intended for them. They feel that an omnipresent person monitors their activities. This approach by Internet Service Providers and Network Administrators shows how the idea of panopticon is used to monitor internet services in the modern society. Conclusion The idea of panopticon shows how to effectively control and monitor people effectively by abstracting the supervision. This makes them feel watched but cannot watch the supervisor. This makes them cautious on their activities, as they do not know the movements of the supervisor. This ideology, which led to panopticism, is widely used in modern society by various organizations to manage people effectively. It is the ideal approach of exercising power in modern society as it is used by various organizations. References Bowcott, O. & Ball, J. “Social media mass surveillance is permitted by law, says top UK official.” The Guardian. 17 June 2014. Web. 13 Nov. 2014. Cohen, Noam. “It’s Tracking Your Every Move and You May Not Even Know.” The New York Times. 26 Mar. 2011. Web. 13 Nov. 2014. Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of Prison. New York: Random House, 1975. Print. History.com Staff. 9/11 Attacks. A+E Networks. 2010. Web. 13 Nov. 2014.   Pleming, Sue. “U.S. State Department speaks to Twitter over Iran.” US ed. Reuters. 16 June 2009. Web. 13 Nov. 2014 "panopticon." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. Web. 12 Nov. 2014. . "panopticon." Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. Web. 12 Nov. 2014. . "panopticon." Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper, Historian. Web. 12 Nov. 2014. . Trottier, Daniel. “Interpersonal Surveillance on Social Media.” Canadian Journal of Communication 37:2 (2012): 323-324. Web. 12 Nov. 2014. Union of Concerned Scientists. UCS Satellite Database. Union of Concerned Scientists. 31 July 2014. Web. 13 Nov. 2014. Walter-Echols, Michael. Panopticon: Surveillance and Privacy in the Internet Age. BS report. Worcester Polytechnic Institute. 2009. Web. 13 Aug. 2014. Winokur, Mark. The Ambiguous Panopticon: Foucault and the Codes of Cyberspace. CTheory.net. 13 Mar. 2003. Web. 13 Nov. 2014. Read More