PANOPTICISM

Michel Foucalt, a French philosopher born in 1926, discovered the postmodern philosophical theory of panopticism. To begin with Foucalt himself, he was an openly gay man, which led to his massive exposure to intense homophobia. This, with no doubt, shaped his theories and his perspective. Foucalt’s work focused mostly on power and institutions, specifically on how the power works rather than what power is.

Foucalt believed that power isn’t top-down such as in relationships with kings and laws, but rather is present in every-day common relationships. This idea sprouted from Jeremy Bentham’s prison design, known as the Panopticon: it has a circular prison with a central tower in which guards can see every prisoner but a prisoner can't see any guards. As a result of this setup, prisoners act as if they are being watched all the time, helping eradicate the necessity for constant supervision.

The Panopticon is a metaphor that Foucalt uses to describe the constant surveillance in modern society. He draws a parallel between the prisoners regulating themselves under the guards’ watchful eyes and modern society ‘self-surveilling’ themselves out of fear of being watched. From this theory, panopticism emerged; panopticism is a theory that looks into the shift from punishment to discipline. It examines a world where punishment such as executions, exiles, and torture are no longer necessary because surveillance and less ‘violent’ systems exist, but are still more effective.

Panopticism discusses discipline and the role it plays in peoples’ tendency to self-surveil, which leads to the creation of ‘docile bodies’ which are trained to behave and think a certain way. Under this perspective, panopticistic power is invisible. The idea of surveillance has such strong power that people are controlled by a mere possibility. Foucalt believes that panopticism is extremely powerful because of the belief that power is most effective when subtle; when too overbearing, individuals become upset and often tend to rebel against it due to feeling not in power. However, under panopticism, people control themselves in order to fit into norms. The power pushing individuals to pursue individuality and make their own choices makes this unique theory very effective under Foucalt’s eyes.

Panopticism can be seen in the daily world. For example, panopticism is seen in CCTV cameras, social media, workplace employee performance trackers, teacher-student behavior grading, and so much more.

It is important to note that while Foucalt thought that this was a very effective but subtle system of power, Foucalt did not advocate or agree with this theory. In fact, Foucalt wanted society to notice the creepy pattern of control that certain powerful groups had.

While this theory seems to have many effective results, questions arise when it comes to the ethicality on the pursuit of the results. For example, is constant surveillance ethical? Will this surveillance make us more moral or create a facade? Is this really ‘fairer’ discipline or a borderline manipulative system of control? Who would control panopticism (i.e. governments and corporations) and how would they use it?