Society Under Surveillance
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In the essay, Panopticism, by Michel Focault, he makes the argument that we
live in a society of surveillance. This signifies that our society is based on a
combination of "forces and bodies" all of which act to create the individual. It is
this surveillance which forms the basis of power that causes the individual to
believe that the world he lives in is one that is continually watching over him. This
constant resistance of those who fear seems to shape who the individual
becomes within society.
The first phrase in the passage testifies to the basic structure of our society.
The goal for our society is "to procure for a small number, or even for a single
individual, the instantaneous view of a great multitude" (Focault 333). The
purpose of such a society is so that the relations between the individual and the
state can be better controlled. This means that the "infinitely small of political
power" (Focault 331) who run the state can watch the many citizens. It must be
acknowledged that to view each citizen is not simply to watch them, but to
exercise the power that surveillance entails.
The powerful results of surveillance can be seen when Focault discusses
lepers and plague victims...