Disciplinary Power
Since the publication of Michel Foucault's SURVEILLER ET PUNIR (English
translation, DISCIPLINE AND PUNISH) the subtle, yet everyday, workings of
power, which one might say previously were hidden in plain sight, became
more apparent in their expanded role of constructing our contemporary
society. Fundamental to Foucault's critique is his insistence that we begin
to rethink our conception of power as this is applied to the field of human
activities. Power is more than a constraining or limiting force; it is not
just about prohibitions and limits. There is a strong constructive element
to power, and it is this positive aspect that makes possible and shapes many
of our contemporary social institutions. It is the everyday operation of
this ordering, organizing, and totalizing principle, which we have become so
accustomed to, that Foucault would like for us to appreciate. With this in
mind, I will outline Foucault's description of disciplinary power, which he
analyses in terms of three techniques: hierarchical observation,
normalization, and examination.
Foucault emphasizes that disciplinary power is an inherently suspicious
power that functions primarily through surveillance. "The exercise of
discipline presupposes a mechanism that coerces by means of observation; an
apparatus in which the techniques that make it possible to see induce
effects of power, and in which, conversely, the means of coercion make those
on whom they are applied clearly visible. [Therefore,] the perfect
disciplinary apparatus would make it possible for a single gaze to see
everything constantly."
Foucault suggests that Bentham's Panopticon prison provides an exemplary
model for such a disciplinary apparatus, since this prison operates on the
basis of an omnipresent power of surveillance. The Panopticon prison is a
circular structure with the cells for the inmates arranged against the outer
wall, opening inward toward the center of the building; they surround and
are in full view of a central observation tower. The windows of the central
tower are shuttered, so the inmates can never tell when they are being
watched; consequently, they experience the power of a constant, watchful eye.
However, as a practical application, such direct observation by a "single
gaze" is unwieldy outside of compact and enclosed institutions, so one sees
the application of what Foucault calls "hierarchical observation." This
method of observation is readily apparent in the military, for example, in
which the chain of command is also a chain of surveillance: "supervisors,
perpetually supervised" is Foucault's felicitous phrase. The same problem
had to be addressed as the scale of manufacturing increased, and in many
instances, supervision emerged as a special and specific function with
specialized personnel responsible for oversight. As a result one sees
networks of clerks and administrators paralleling the operations of a
business and providing surveillance over the workers for the owners.
Managed care for example, can be seen as the development of a large scale
service industry built upon these disciplinary techniques of surveillance.
As groups of providers are brought together to function in ever larger
aggregates, hierarchical observation extends its realm of functioning and
provides the means for holding an organization together through a network of
reporting relations and accountability, traversing the whole of this operation.
Another important aspect to the functioning of disciplinary techniques is
"normalization", which is essentially a corrective function. Offenses are
determined by whether a person measures up to a rule or standard. Its
purpose is to establish the gaps that exist between expectation and
practice, so these deviations can be corrected. When these irregularities
are discovered, they require a punitive response, which usually takes the
form of required training, and ideally, a uniformity of activity is restored.
Foucault concludes that the two components of disciplinary power described
above, hierarchical observation and normalization, reach their culmination
when they are joined in discipline's third basic technique, "the
examination." Observation and judgement come together in this formalized
process, and the result is a "normalizing gaze, a surveillance that makes it
possible to qualify, to classify and to punish." The constant prospect of
being examined or reviewed establishes a more generalized and ideal version
of Bentham's panopticism. "It establishes over individuals a visibility
through which one differentiates them and judges them," but without the
limitations imposed by a need to be in close proximity to the individuals
under surveillance. The examination can bring even distant and prior
activities to light through its methods of documentation. Documentation
objectifies the individual and his activities and allows one to get hold of
them. " The examination, surrounded by all its documentary techniques,
makes each individual a 'case'. . . . [The case] is the individual as he may
be described, judged, measured, compared with others, in his very
individuality; and it is also the individual who has to be trained or
corrected, classified, normalized, excluded, etc."
Since the publication of Michel Foucault's SURVEILLER ET PUNIR (English
translation, DISCIPLINE AND PUNISH) the subtle, yet everyday, workings of
power, which one might say previously were hidden in plain sight, became
more apparent in their expanded role of constructing our contemporary
society. Fundamental to Foucault's critique is his insistence that we begin
to rethink our conception of power as this is applied to the field of human
activities. Power is more than a constraining or limiting force; it is not
just about prohibitions and limits. There is a strong constructive element
to power, and it is this positive aspect that makes possible and shapes many
of our contemporary social institutions. It is the everyday operation of
this ordering, organizing, and totalizing principle, which we have become so
accustomed to, that Foucault would like for us to appreciate. With this in
mind, I will outline Foucault's description of disciplinary power, which he
analyses in terms of three techniques: hierarchical observation,
normalization, and examination.
Foucault emphasizes that disciplinary power is an inherently suspicious
power that functions primarily through surveillance. "The exercise of
discipline presupposes a mechanism that coerces by means of observation; an
apparatus in which the techniques that make it possible to see induce
effects of power, and in which, conversely, the means of coercion make those
on whom they are applied clearly visible. [Therefore,] the perfect
disciplinary apparatus would make it possible for a single gaze to see
everything constantly."
Foucault suggests that Bentham's Panopticon prison provides an exemplary
model for such a disciplinary apparatus, since this prison operates on the
basis of an omnipresent power of surveillance. The Panopticon prison is a
circular structure with the cells for the inmates arranged against the outer
wall, opening inward toward the center of the building; they surround and
are in full view of a central observation tower. The windows of the central
tower are shuttered, so the inmates can never tell when they are being
watched; consequently, they experience the power of a constant, watchful eye.
However, as a practical application, such direct observation by a "single
gaze" is unwieldy outside of compact and enclosed institutions, so one sees
the application of what Foucault calls "hierarchical observation." This
method of observation is readily apparent in the military, for example, in
which the chain of command is also a chain of surveillance: "supervisors,
perpetually supervised" is Foucault's felicitous phrase. The same problem
had to be addressed as the scale of manufacturing increased, and in many
instances, supervision emerged as a special and specific function with
specialized personnel responsible for oversight. As a result one sees
networks of clerks and administrators paralleling the operations of a
business and providing surveillance over the workers for the owners.
Managed care for example, can be seen as the development of a large scale
service industry built upon these disciplinary techniques of surveillance.
As groups of providers are brought together to function in ever larger
aggregates, hierarchical observation extends its realm of functioning and
provides the means for holding an organization together through a network of
reporting relations and accountability, traversing the whole of this operation.
Another important aspect to the functioning of disciplinary techniques is
"normalization", which is essentially a corrective function. Offenses are
determined by whether a person measures up to a rule or standard. Its
purpose is to establish the gaps that exist between expectation and
practice, so these deviations can be corrected. When these irregularities
are discovered, they require a punitive response, which usually takes the
form of required training, and ideally, a uniformity of activity is restored.
Foucault concludes that the two components of disciplinary power described
above, hierarchical observation and normalization, reach their culmination
when they are joined in discipline's third basic technique, "the
examination." Observation and judgement come together in this formalized
process, and the result is a "normalizing gaze, a surveillance that makes it
possible to qualify, to classify and to punish." The constant prospect of
being examined or reviewed establishes a more generalized and ideal version
of Bentham's panopticism. "It establishes over individuals a visibility
through which one differentiates them and judges them," but without the
limitations imposed by a need to be in close proximity to the individuals
under surveillance. The examination can bring even distant and prior
activities to light through its methods of documentation. Documentation
objectifies the individual and his activities and allows one to get hold of
them. " The examination, surrounded by all its documentary techniques,
makes each individual a 'case'. . . . [The case] is the individual as he may
be described, judged, measured, compared with others, in his very
individuality; and it is also the individual who has to be trained or
corrected, classified, normalized, excluded, etc."