Summary of Foucault's "Panopticism"

        Michel Foucault gives his opinion on power and discipline in "Panopticism". He begins by explaining what measures were taken to control the plague, such as quarantine and forced separation. These forms of discipline used during the plagues have been the basis for much of the discipline that was evident during that time. From there, Foucault describes Jeremy Bentham's "Panopticon", a tower in the center of a room which has vision to every cell, generalized for prisoners. The ultimate discipline mechanism, the panopticon is simply a device to make discipline more economic and proficient.  It's selling point is that all the prisoners can be seen without ever seeing. Furthermore, the panopticon epitomizes power and control because it minimizes the persons needed to operate and maximizes the persons that it watches over. Since a prisoner never knows when he/she is being watched, anybody has the power to operate the panopticon. Because of this, there can be no tyranny where the power is held (and abused) by one person. The panopticon does not limit itself to prison cells, however. It can maximize potential in a hospital, school, factory or wherever else discipline plays a role. In a sense, if society had a panopticon, the world would be much more productive at the hands of power and discipline. Nearly opposite the tactics used to control the plague, the style incorporated by the panopticon uses the power of seeing to gain control. The panopticon is power by geometry, and Foucault goes into great detail about how the panopticon represents discipline and power in society as a whole.