Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Safety through capitalism
Capitalism is a way of controling the masses either through the use of money or the use of social restrictions posed by those in power. According to Foucault a panopticon is a towering structure built to oversee all activities that inmates and all those in total institutions may attempt to do. I however see this idea of panopticon as being able to transend to all social settings in a more subtle way. Do you think that we as humans feel the need to not do criminal activities because we have an internal panopticon or feel that there is always someone watching? If no one is watching over our behaviour do you think we as humans would turn into criminal behavior?
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I feel that perhaps we do have this internal panopticon. I really began felling watched during the Bush administration after 9/11. After 9/11 we began to see a lot of privacy laws develop in order to keep track of any terrorist activity. I understood the reasoning behind these measures but it really began to make me feel as though anything I was doing on the internet could be easily tracked by the government.
ReplyDeleteI also feel this way in the outdoors. Over the past five years we have seen an enormous number of traffic cameras go up on our streets and highways. One can even receive a ticket by these cameras even if there is no law enforcement official.
Also at my work they have recently placed came around the restaurant. My boss told me that he can simply go home and watch current and previously recorded activity from his home computer. How convenient has surveillance become?!
Overall, my internal panopticon isn't the reason why I don't contribute to criminal behavior. I always try to obey the law because it is civil and I am an orderly person with no intentions of hurting anything or anybody.
I feel that if some people who don't practice my type of behavior could certainly have criminal behavior. I feel that we do need panopticon but not to the extent that we have come to today. I can see it making some people more defensive about being overseen on their every move.
Your idea is quite intriguing. It is possible individuals possess an internal _panopticon_ which monitors behavior as well as stimulates proper conduct. As to a broader panopticon, it is possible individuals continuously become objects of scrutiny - by other individuals as well as technology (e.g. surveillance cameras, phone taps). Concerning your last question, I have located two possibilities. Without scrutiny, individuals may commit deviant and subsequent criminal acts. However, it is also possible an internal force may guide behavior despite a lack of surveillance.
ReplyDeleteI think generally humans are nice people and don’t want to do some sort of criminal behavior. Nowadays I think people realize that if they do something, they will get caught. With that in mind, people would probably do something minor like steal something from a store. Even if there was no way to get caught, I don’t think people would go around killing other people. Law enforcement is a way to control the public, and breaking the law is enough for people to not break the law. Haven’t we seen that even with technology and forensics and surveillance, there are some crimes that are never solved? I think this just shows that humans, for the most part, generally do not wish to do hurtful or mean things to other people. Or maybe I just live in a fantasy world, lol. Who knows.
ReplyDeleteI would definitely say that there are huge massed of people that have internal panopticon that keeps them from engaging in criminal behavior. Theft use to be very easy before technological advancements such as bar codes, surveillance cameras, alarms that alert items not paid for, and even Radio frequency identification which tracks inventory. Before it would be very easy for someone to walk into a gas station and get a five finger discount candy bar, but now one has to fear the chances of getting caught, there is normally an eye in the sky at all businesses. Even running a traffic light is occurring less because there are cameras. One can never be too sure that we are not being watched. I think if no one was watching our behavior criminal activity would definitely increase, so in a way, panopticon is a quite important in our society.
ReplyDeleteI do feel as if someone is always watching, whether it be the govt. or a supernatural being known as God, or passed away loved ones. My own self conscience is also always watching me, guiding me and telling me what is right and wrong.
ReplyDeleteI always wonder this myself, I question atheists because to me there seems to be no purpose without an afterlife. Why see anything as right and wrong? Why not just do whatever you want, whenever you want, if there's no reward at the end or punishment?
I think that many human beings would turn to criminal behavior if they knew they could get away with it. Right now, I would probably not commit any crimes even if I knew I wouldn't get caught, but that would not have been the case when I was a teenager. I'm sure the only thing that kept me from doing crazy things was the fact that I might get in trouble. People are not born knowing what the rules are or wanting to follow them. It isn't until people are socialized to avoid certain behaviors that they would do so even if no one was watching. Even so, I do agree with "sunshine" that people would probably commit only petty crimes if they knew they could get away with it. I don't think that they would go around killing people either, even if they knew they wouldn't get caught. That is, unless they were socialized to, like many children in unstable countries or gangs.
ReplyDeleteI think that humans without any kind of authority could eventually turn into criminal behavior, however I also believe that there is some kind of morality that also guides people's behavior. We have to consider that many people are more motivated by their religious beliefs that prohibit killing, stealing, etc... which happen to be criminal activities as well.
ReplyDeleteSome people dont have criminal behavior becuase their culture and morals have taught them that its wrong to act that way, and when indeed they do act in such a way, i believe that they definitely feel watched. Whether it is watched by God, government, or other "superior" being, the simple fact that they are doing wrong doing leads to the feeling of being watched. This feeling comes out from that fact that people dont want to get caught. They are over cautious in what theyre are doing, and feeling watched is a precaution and a mechanism to fear of getting caught.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the internal panopticon is not necessarily what causes an individual to turn to deviant behavior. On the contrary, I am a strong believer that a society is what makes a person turn to deviant behavior. Of course, the individual has a lot to do with it, but if a person is to commit a crime, if someone is watching or not, they have already made up their minds.
ReplyDeleteAt the end, I really believe it comes down to the individual morality and customs. Lke karidoodles, says, if they are religious they are always being watched, you don't need traffic cameras to be seen.
I also believe that internal panopticon is not really the case. Our ouwn society sometimes makes us act in certain deviat behaviors, because of the lack of even development. For example, a person might steal just to get the basic needs. I am not saying that stealind is a good thing, all am saying is that in many circumstance a person might act deviant just to survive. eventhough there are many necesities a person must fallow their principles and do the right thing.
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