discipline and punish the birth of the prison 1975

The advent of a new economy and politics of the body took “the art of punishing” to a new level. The spectacle of torture would often provoke unintended consequences: witnessing extreme violence, citizens would sometimes side with the tortured convict, which led to riots. However, it was not the welfare of criminals that concerned them, but social control.

In the 18th century, French reformists began to question the penal system and called for less spectacular and violent punishments. The horrible suffering of wrongdoers was seen as proof the sovereign’s absolute power over every citizen. Violent torture, mutilation of convicts’ bodies and cruel executions were a public spectacle aimed at teaching a lesson and deterring others from committing similar crimes. Drawing on the history of the penal system in France, Foucault, however, does not limit his analysis to his homeland: his treatise reflects the changes that happened all over Europe in the 18th century.īefore the 18th century, punishment was directed at the human body.

Foucault demonstrates the ways in which strict discipline and morals have transformed the agency of punishment from the corporeal to the spiritual.įoucault examines the system of state control in its social context and explains the connection between the gradual transition from centralized power to democratic rule and the changes in how societies punish their criminals. Foucault’s book provides analysis of the historical development of the modern penal system and its move from execution to incarceration and total control of criminals.

Discipline and punish the birth of the prison 1975