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Michel Foucault: Discipline And Punishment

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Michel Foucault: Discipline and Punishment

Crime is inevitable in society, whether it be in traditional societies or in modern society. However, with an action, there always has to be a consequence, however when breaking the law, the consequences are rather bad, and sometimes harsh. This is called punishment. Discipline is enforcing acceptable patterns of behaviour and teaching obedience. In an excerpt called Discipline and Punish, contemporary theorist Michael Foucault explains these two concepts. This essay will summarize the author’s main points and provide a comparison with a theorist previously lectured on in class, as well as a personal interpretation of Foucault’s arguments.
As probably studied in any law or history class, punishment in medieval times consisted of public executions,corporal punishment and torture. Simply put, punishment entailed brutality and violence. However, with time, prisons had finally been established. In modern society, punishment is based on imprisonment, meaning a criminal is placed within a cell and kept there for a period of time, yet there are many states and countries that still permit ‘capital punishment’ for the criminals who are accused in the courts. Although some prisoners do not accept that they are under a high power, the truth is that they will be wielding power the whole duration of the prison term. Simply put, prison equals an advantage for the workers because they can exercise power while the

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