The Panopticon was a prison design by Jeremy Bentham in 1785, with a central observation tower and cells surrounding it. It aimed to improve inmate behavior through constant observation. The concept has been used as a metaphor for modern societies and total institutions. The increasing use of surveillance technologies has raised concerns about privacy rights. Bentham failed to have a Panopticon prison built, but argued it would reduce labor costs and prison mortality rates.
The Panopticon, loosely translated as “all-seeing,” is a type of prison designed by British philosopher Jeremy Bentham, and was the subject of his book “Panopticon; or, the Inspection-House” published in 1785. Bentham described a ring-shaped building with cells extending from the outer to the inner walls, with an observation tower in the centre. The prison was built in such a way that prisoners were always visible from the tower, but could not see other inmates or know if and when they were being observed. Bentham’s idea was that constant observation would improve inmate behavior and lead to greater safety. In more recent times, the idea of constant surveillance to increase security and how this affects privacy rights has been raised when discussing modern technologies such as video surveillance, electronic listening devices, and data collection technologies. personal informations.
Bentham tried to have a Panopticon prison built but failed. He argued that he would reduce labor costs because it required fewer personnel, since the simple illusion of ever-present omniscient observers would be sufficient to monitor the inmates. Bentham also thought that this form of criminal confinement would reduce prison mortality rates. He described the Panopticon as “a new way to gain mind power over mind, in a hitherto unexampled amount.”
In the 20th and 21st centuries, the Panopticon has been used by some people as a metaphor for modern societies, some based on totalitarianism, where state power functions automatically because the population has “internalized” state oversight. This means that individuals control and suppress their own behavior without the need for effective enforcement. The idea of the panopticon has also been used when discussing total institutions. A total institution is a place where people are isolated with strict and impersonal controls placed on their lives, ultimately resulting in a breakdown of the personal self. Psychiatric hospitals, concentration camps, boarding schools and army barracks have been used as examples of total institutions.
The increasing use of computers and video surveillance in public places, workplaces, schools and many other places has been compared to the Panopticon and has been criticized for threatening personal privacy rights. For example, the Information Awareness Office (IAO) set up in 2002 in the United States to counter threats to national security has raised such concerns. The IAO allegedly created extensive databases to collect and store personal information without requiring search warrants. After criticisms that this could lead to a mass surveillance system, funding for the IAO was removed in 2003.
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