Introduction: The Panopticon is a conceptual prison created by Jeremy Bentham in 1785. The main idea of ​​this prison was that the guards would be able to view and monitor all activities prisoners. from one place. Background: In this prison, a tower was placed in the center and the cells were built around it. From the tower, the guards could see into every room and monitor their activities, but the inmates could not see inside the tower. The inmates could not see how many guards were in the tower and whether they were being watched. “Visible: the detainee will constantly have before his eyes the tall silhouette of the central tower from which he is being watched. Unverifiable: the detainee must never know if he is being observed at any given moment; but he must be sure that he can always be. (Foucault 201). With this in mind, it is assumed that prisoners would always behave in the best manner possible because they could never be sure of being monitored. With this permanent visibility, prisoners would regulate their own behavior, the physical presence of guards and the threat of real punishment would be obsolete. As a result, power becomes more efficient and economical. The number of prisoners who can be controlled may increase, while the number of guards needed to run the prison decreases. “The layout of its room, facing the central tover, requires axial visibility; but the divisions of the ring, these separate cells, imply lateral invisibility. And this invisibility is a guarantee of order. If the detainees are convicts, there is no danger of conspiracy, attempted collective escape, planning new crimes for the future, bad reciprocal influences…”. With this type of complete isolation, prisoners would be under the absolute control of the guards. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayThesis Statement: In Foucault's book, he uses the panopticon to describe how modern institutions and society in general use separation and the threat of surveillance to control its citizens. Proof & quote: “In each of its applications, it allows the exercise of power to be perfected. It does this in several ways: because it can reduce the number of those who exercise it, while increasing the number of those on whom it is exercised. Because it is possible to intervene at any time and because the constant pressure acts even before the offenses, errors or crimes are committed. Because, in these conditions, its strength is to never intervene, to operate spontaneously and without noise, to constitute a mechanism whose effects follow one another. Because, without any other physical instrument than architecture and geometry, it acts directly on individuals; it gives “the power of the mind over the mind.” Comment: This is clear from the way most societies have always been structured. The “ruling” class is a small minority and someone is convincing the rest of society to fall in line and live as they want. This is not done through the threat of violence and constant surveillance. “The effectiveness of power, its constraining force have in some way passed to the other side, to the side of its surface of application. He who is subject to a field of visibility, and who knows it, assumes responsibility for the constraints of power; he plays them spontaneously on himself; he inscribes within himself the power relationship in which he plays both roles simultaneously; it becomes the principle of its own subjection. Topic sentence: In our society, there is noobviously no tower that monitors our behavior, this is done through things like visible cameras that can be found almost everywhere we go, surveillance and tracking of people through their electronic devices and through online communication, like email and social media. Proof & Citing: Essentially, the watchtower at the center of the panopticon is the precursor to the surveillance cameras found in every mode of public transportation and in every building. These cameras do not hide their existence, they are always visible. We never know if these cameras are on and if someone is actually watching us. However, the mere presence of the camera is enough to make most people behave properly. I would like to quickly address industrial and post-industrial societies. Topic sentence: In an industrial society, the emphasis is on the production of goods. Evidence and Citations: Blue-collar, manual labor jobs are the norm. Workers have practical skills, such as plumbing or welding, that can be directly translated into the real world. There is no emphasis on creativity or outside-the-box thinking, and there is no reward for this ability. Everything is standard and regulated. Comment: There is a clear and visible distribution of power, who is in charge and what is expected. Workers work and managers supervise this work. Topic Sentence: Fast forward to modern times, post-industrialism and we have a very different society. There has been a shift from producing actual physical goods to a society primarily offering services. Evidence and citations: There are more restaurants, agencies and the like, where there is more emphasis on theoretical knowledge. There is an emphasis on creativity and innovation, with a higher demand for education and higher degrees. Comment: With this comes a new set of ideals. The emphasis is on ambition, motivation, self-organization and teamwork. None of these were necessary or desired in an industrial society. Thematic sentence: What is the relationship of this new society with the panopticon? Comment: Well, this self-regulation is a characteristic of our modern society. It is now deeply ingrained in us that we need to take control and that we now have power over our professional lives. This power, however, is imaginary. Evidence and Citation: Just like prisoners, workers who work in the creative sector, for example, always have this unconscious feeling of being watched. Creative agencies in particular give the illusion that their employees are free and independent, but this is not the case. With the addition of technology in the workplace, workers assume that there is some sort of software installed on computers to spy and track their activity. This aims to prevent them from browsing the Internet and maintain their productivity. The employees are not sure, but the hypothesis is there. Open offices are another form of this control. Employees are always exposed, they have no personal space or privacy. They are not only visible to their bosses, but also to their colleagues. This type of atmosphere ensures that workers are always as productive as possible. Even with something that's supposedly ideal, like freelancing or having a home office, the threat of constant surveillance is still dominated. Here the panopticon is less direct and less visible. Even in the comfort of their own space, there is this feeling and pressure to always be as productive as possible..