Panopticonism

A disciplinary theory based on the panopticon, an architectural structure that was used as a metaphor for a system of surveillance.

Panopticonism was a theory introduced by Michel Foucault in one of his most influential books, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. It is a concept which explains a new model of surveillance in society.

Introduced by English philosopher and architect Jeremy Bentham, the panopticon was a circular building with cells built into its circular walls with an observational tower at the centre. A guard could observe every move of the prisoners in each cell from the observational tower. The prisoners, in turn, could see the tower but could not see anything inside it on account of the difference in height as well as the shutters and blinds. The ambiguity about whether or not they were being observed forced the prisoners to conduct themselves inside their cells with the assumption that the guards could be observing them at any point in time.

This was the perfect idea for a prison, according to Bentham, as it was visible yet unverifiable. He believed that the fear of constant surveillance could help bring order and discipline, alter and reform groups and preserve morals inside the four walls of the prison.

Foucault takes the architectural structure and transforms it into a philosophical theory that helps us understand how the idea of surveillance and the power relationship between individuals and systems of social control changed post-panopticon. An advocate of individual freedom, he believed that visibility was a ‘trap’ that would coerce people into disciplining themselves and behaving in a way that pleased systems of power and knowledge. Foucault explains how such invisible observation helps systems of control beyond the prison structure. If invisible surveillance features are installed in society, people would self-regulate themselves assuming that they are being constantly observed even when there is no one observing them. This makes panoptic surveillance more economical and efficient than total surveillance. It produces outcomes desired by systems of control without unleashing actual violence, but through structural violence wherein people are devoid of freedom owing to their psychological fear of being watched. This is a one-way attainment of information, which can be further used to control citizens.

1984 by George Orwell is a remarkable book that visualises a panoptic surveillance state. The plot revolves around Winston Smith and the way he looks at the dystopian society he lives in. Throughout the book, the author mentions the ‘Big Brother’ who is always watching, and how citizens in the fictional totalitarian state of Oceania seem to be living in a virtual prison controlled by technology and propaganda. People seem hesitant to talk or even think against the oligarchy not because they see a policeman or a guard watching over them but owing to the fear that there could be a spy amidst them listening to their thoughts (the spy could even be your own child).

Foucault believed that panopticonism would spread and have unprecedented consequences in societies as systems of control would use it for their benefit at the cost of individual freedom.

As predicted by Foucault, panopticonism has spread in unexpected ways in our society. The present-day CCTV camera is a candid example of how the theory works with people being cautious about how they behave irrespective of whether the camera is functional. It, for instance, inculcates more fear among students writing an exam preventing them from cheating than the presence of an invigilator.