Speaking of the Panopticon, and the Utilitarian dream of perfect correction
that this dream building supposes, I was watching "60 Minutes" a couple of
weeks ago and I saw something interesting. Apparently there is a new "model"
prison in California predicated on the idea that if surveillance and discipline
are complete enough, then correction/rehabilitation is possible
(sound familiar?). When one looks at the design of this new model prison,
Bentham's Panopticon could have easily been the model. The prison's interior
is circular, with layers of wide open cells, all easily viewable from a central
tower which is located in the center of this tube of cells. To increase
surveillance, each cell is equipped with a video camera, where every action of
\the inmate is watched. Also, the Warden has put in place techniques of
control and correction, including: ten hours of schooling per day, meticulous
time schedules for eating, sleeping, recreation, etc., as well as a system of
rewards and deprivations designed to control the behavior of inmates. The
Warden claimed, in the interview, that this prison will succeed, where others
have failed, because the connection between punishment and unacceptable
behavior is total and complete. It seems that the Utilitarian dream of
perfect rehabilitation (domination?) via meticulous tactics of control and
surveillance, is not just a remnant of the distant past, but is also the "new"
dream of a contemporary group of penal reformers. Some dreams die hard, I
guess.
Greg Coolidge
Univ. of Calif., Riverside
that this dream building supposes, I was watching "60 Minutes" a couple of
weeks ago and I saw something interesting. Apparently there is a new "model"
prison in California predicated on the idea that if surveillance and discipline
are complete enough, then correction/rehabilitation is possible
(sound familiar?). When one looks at the design of this new model prison,
Bentham's Panopticon could have easily been the model. The prison's interior
is circular, with layers of wide open cells, all easily viewable from a central
tower which is located in the center of this tube of cells. To increase
surveillance, each cell is equipped with a video camera, where every action of
\the inmate is watched. Also, the Warden has put in place techniques of
control and correction, including: ten hours of schooling per day, meticulous
time schedules for eating, sleeping, recreation, etc., as well as a system of
rewards and deprivations designed to control the behavior of inmates. The
Warden claimed, in the interview, that this prison will succeed, where others
have failed, because the connection between punishment and unacceptable
behavior is total and complete. It seems that the Utilitarian dream of
perfect rehabilitation (domination?) via meticulous tactics of control and
surveillance, is not just a remnant of the distant past, but is also the "new"
dream of a contemporary group of penal reformers. Some dreams die hard, I
guess.
Greg Coolidge
Univ. of Calif., Riverside