Untitled Essay, Research Paper

Chris Carlson

English 1-53

Panopticon: The Ideal Social Order

"The Panopticon is a marvelous machine which, whatever use one may

wish to put it to, produces homogenous effects of power." Panopticism is a style of

controlling the individual and making him conform to the system. That system could refer

to the police or the world as a whole. There is never a definite top position, therefore,

everyone feels as if they are being monitored by someone else. It is for this reason that

this disciplinary mechanism is so effective.

The Panopticon serves as a tool for discipline and a laboratory of

power. The capabilities of a Panopticon are endless. It is the basis for the government

while it could also aid in the criminal activities for the mafia. In the government there

is a system of checks and balances where nothing can get accomplished without the

authorization of a higher ranked official. Once these ideas are passed they are then

imposed on the individuals of society by other organizations . Whether it be the police,

the IRA, or a neighborhood watch group. The Panopticon can serve the public in many ways.

It can defend a country, reform prisoners, treat the ill, and educate the public. It does

this by creating channels of power and distributing them to the individuals. In the

Panopticon, no one individual shall be granted too much power so as to place his or her

own values upon the masses. The concept behind panopticism is the distribution of power in

order to better society as a whole. The historical problems with power have proven, when

it is unevenly distributed, those with the power take advantage and impose their values on

the public. For instance, Hitler was given too much power and he massacred millions of

innocent people. The Panopticon, on the other hand, serves to increase the wealth,

welfare, education, and spirituality of society. The Panopticon does punish but it does so

in a means of reform. It attempts to restore the individual to a being that can be a

productive and positive influence. The system has two main purposes, the distribution of

power and the means of establishing discipline.

Every aspect of the world has the ideas and principles of panopticism

behind them. The world is full of intricate and complicated people. These people group

together to create tribes, governments, countries, and or civilizations. What are the

rules? How are we, the most complicated form of life that we know of, suppose to act

towards one another. The panoptic system has implemented itself upon the world. It has

created a system where no one force can overcome the next without any serious

implications. If our country had one person in complete control we would be in grave

danger. What if this individual decided he didn’t like people with blonde hair. If

one was granted enough power he could round up all of those with blonde hair and execute

them. The panopticon prevents this. It forms a intricate network of the distribution of

power so that one never feels that he can act without repercussions. This form of control

goes so far as to question, how do we know that we are not being watched by other forms of

life? Right now, as I write this paper there might be some other form of life monitoring

my every action. Not to mention that our own government can follow us with the invention

of satellites. This is why the system is ingrained so deeply within its’ society. No

matter what level of society one is on he doesn’t know if he is being watched.

The police force in our government is a prime example of panopticism in

our society. The police enforce discipline and they are given enough power to protect us

from the ills of society. Yet they are not given too much so that they can control us. If

an officer decides that he does not like an individual he has just arrested, the officer

does not have the right to impose his own values upon the offender. He must act in

accordance to a higher authority. If he disobeys this authority he is subject to

disciplinary actions. The beauty of the system is that this officer never knows when he

could get caught breaking the rules. Even though this officer upholds justice, he himself

is subject to the laws he maintains. This is what makes the panopticon so strong. The

citizens of our society looks the police as the bad guys. Where would we be without a

police force? They are here to protect those that are benefiting society. Just the fact

that there is a police force acts as a deterrent to those who might be considering an

illegal activity. This network of who is watching who is one of the concepts behind

panopticism and it is what makes the police force so successful.

The Panopticon is a multi-functional form of organization. It serves as

a distribution of power that provides, produces, and protects the individuals contained

within its’ limits. It includes institutions such as a hospital, schoolhouse,

government, or even a prison. One might feel that each of these organizations have

different objectives. Panopticism shows that all of these forms of order have a unified

purpose, to benefit any individual in society and help society by bettering that

individual.Chris Carlson

English 1-53

Panopticon: The Ideal Social Order

"The Panopticon is a marvelous machine which, whatever use one may

wish to put it to, produces homogenous effects of power." Panopticism is a style of

controlling the individual and making him conform to the system. That system could refer

to the police or the world as a whole. There is never a definite top position, therefore,

everyone feels as if they are being monitored by someone else. It is for this reason that

this disciplinary mechanism is so effective.

The Panopticon serves as a tool for discipline and a laboratory of

power. The capabilities of a Panopticon are endless. It is the basis for the government

while it could also aid in the criminal activities for the mafia. In the government there

is a system of checks and balances where nothing can get accomplished without the

authorization of a higher ranked official. Once these ideas are passed they are then

imposed on the individuals of society by other organizations . Whether it be the police,

the IRA, or a neighborhood watch group. The Panopticon can serve the public in many ways.

It can defend a country, reform prisoners, treat the ill, and educate the public. It does

this by creating channels of power and distributing them to the individuals. In the

Panopticon, no one individual shall be granted too much power so as to place his or her

own values upon the masses. The concept behind panopticism is the distribution of power in

order to better society as a whole. The historical problems with power have proven, when

it is unevenly distributed, those with the power take advantage and impose their values on

the public. For instance, Hitler was given too much power and he massacred millions of

innocent people. The Panopticon, on the other hand, serves to increase the wealth,

welfare, education, and spirituality of society. The Panopticon does punish but it does so

in a means of reform. It attempts to restore the individual to a being that can be a

productive and positive influence. The system has two main purposes, the distribution of

power and the means of establishing discipline.

Every aspect of the world has the ideas and principles of panopticism

behind them. The world is full of intricate and complicated people. These people group

together to create tribes, governments, countries, and or civilizations. What are the

rules? How are we, the most complicated form of life that we know of, suppose to act

towards one another. The panoptic system has implemented itself upon the world. It has

created a system where no one force can overcome the next without any serious

implications. If our country had one person in complete control we would be in grave

danger. What if this individual decided he didn’t like people with blonde hair. If

one was granted enough power he could round up all of those with blonde hair and execute

them. The panopticon prevents this. It forms a intricate network of the distribution of

power so that one never feels that he can act without repercussions. This form of control

goes so far as to question, how do we know that we are not being watched by other forms of

life? Right now, as I write this paper there might be some other form of life monitoring

my every action. Not to mention that our own government can follow us with the invention

of satellites. This is why the system is ingrained so deeply within its’ society. No

matter what level of society one is on he doesn’t know if he is being watched.

The police force in our government is a prime example of panopticism in

our society. The police enforce discipline and they are given enough power to protect us

from the ills of society. Yet they are not given too much so that they can control us. If

an officer decides that he does not like an individual he has just arrested, the officer

does not have the right to impose his own values upon the offender. He must act in

accordance to a higher authority. If he disobeys this authority he is subject to

disciplinary actions. The beauty of the system is that this officer never knows when he

could get caught breaking the rules. Even though this officer upholds justice, he himself

is subject to the laws he maintains. This is what makes the panopticon so strong. The

citizens of our society looks the police as the bad guys. Where would we be without a

police force? They are here to protect those that are benefiting society. Just the fact

that there is a police force acts as a deterrent to those who might be considering an

illegal activity. This network of who is watching who is one of the concepts behind

panopticism and it is what makes the police force so successful.

The Panopticon is a multi-functional form of organization. It serves as

a distribution of power that provides, produces, and protects the individuals contained

within its’ limits. It includes institutions such as a hospital, schoolhouse,

government, or even a prison. One might feel that each of these organizations have

different objectives. Panopticism shows that all of these forms of order have a unified

purpose, to benefit any individual in society and help society by bettering that

individual.