Injustice - Developers Among Us (SciFiDevCon 2024)
PP1 WEEK 5
1. Week 5- Continuous Analytical Reflection
Essential Reading: The disciplinary society: from Weber
to Foucault by John O’Neil.
SAARA ASIM
17075901
1. http://studentsforliberty.org/
2. Modern State Discipline: Foucault
and Weber
Industrial Discipline
2.
http://cpow
milwaukeec
ounty.files.
wordpress.
com/
6. Foucault, M. (1995). Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison. New York: Vintage Books.
Nash, K. (2010). Changing Definitions of Power and Politics, in Contemporary Political Sociology: Globalization,
Politics, and Power.
O’Neill, J. (1986). The Disciplinary Society: From Weber to Foucault. The British Journal of Sociology 37 (1),42-
60.
Students for Liberty [Image 1]. Retrieved May 22, 2014, from http://studentsforliberty.org
Overview [Image 2]. Retrieved May 21, 2014, from http://cpowmilwaukeecounty.files.wordpress.com/
Max Weber [Image 3]. Retrieved May 18, 2014, from http://braungardt.trialectics.com/
The Motor Report [Image 4]. Retrieved May 24, 2014, from www.themotorreport.com.au/
Car advice [Image 5]. Retrieved May 22, 2014, from http://www.caradvice.com.au/
Children in classroom [Image 6]. Retrieved May 24, 2014, from http://therapeuticliteracycenter.com/
No littering [Image 7]. Retrieved May 22, 2014, from http://2.bp.blogspot.com/
No Smoking [Image 8]. Retrieved May 22, 2014, from http://affordablehousinginstitute.org/
Lady gaga [Image 9]. Retrieved May 19, 2014, from http://t.co/0IKGGGMR
Employee Late [Image 10]. Retrieved May 25, 2014 from http://www.calchamber.com/
Innocent until Proven Gulity [Image 11]. Retrieved May 24, 2014 from http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/
4.
Editor's Notes
SAARA ASIM- 17075901
WEEK 5- The Disciplinary Society: from Weber to Foucault.
John O’Neill questions“… what are the techniques by which man has subjected himself to the rational discipline of the applied human sciences”(O’Neill, 1986, p.42)?
To answer this question he compares the works of Weber and Foucault.
Though Weber and Foucault have different theories, they are both interested in the same question of how rational discipline in modern societies change the human behaviour and society itself (O’Neill, 1986).
According to Weber (2010), the most powerful institution in modern society is the state, as it has “gained the legitimate monopoly of force over a given territory” (Nash, 2010, p.9).
Thus, Weber believes that the state has total control over its citizen however this is not imposed through actual violence on citizen but rather the potential of violence (Lentin, 2014).
People are trained and regulated to abide by the laws and jurisdiction through the fear of potential violence and punishment.
For example: People hesitate to exceed the speed limit on roads due to the fear of getting caught by the police and having to pay the consequences of breaking the law. Therefore, people self-regulate and discipline themselves in the fear of being watched for wrongdoing.
Similarly, Bentham’s Panopticon has the same affect which is used in prisons (Foucault, 1995). The prisoners are unable to see the monitor, however the monitor can see the prisoners (Foucault, 1995).This machine has power over all its subjects by just the fear of being watched.
According to O’Neill (1986), Weber treats bureaucracy as a strategy rather than an institution to reproduce relationships of the states, economy, socio-economy and citizens in the state (O’Neill, 1986).
In contrast to Weber, Michael Foucault does not study the bureaucratic process but rather the body of which the power of the state and economy is inscribed (O’Neill, 1986).
O’Neill uses the rise of Industrial discipline as an example to explain how the modern state intervened in controlling people’s behaviour and attitudes for the best interest of the economy.
In England, workers in the mid 18th century where disciplined through cruelty, harsh working conditions, fines, suppression of leisure activities and beating. This aimed of improve working habits of punctuality, responsibility and temperament (O’Neill, 1986).
During the late 18th century a decrease of “...ownership of the means of production” (p.48) occurred as more machinery was introduced in factories, which increased capital’s control over the labour (O’Neill, 1986, p.48).
Workers who had ownership over their own labour challenged this disciplinary strategy through organisations like trade unions (O’Neill, 1986).
Gradually, the Taylorist system accommodated for the trade unions and worker’s struggles to ensure the productivity did not stop (O’Neill, 1986).
Overall, the aim of industrial discipline was for workers to develop respect and self-regulation to working habits and respect towards the economy. It also encouraged the human body to better itself through schooling, as schooling was the main form of societal discipline from a young age.
The values and respect developed from school and teaching help the state to create disciplinary behaviour amongst the society, it makes people believe that the law provides justice and if the law is broken then there will be consequences. The fear embedded in society of punishment, regulates people in society and gives ultimate control to the modern state without people realising it.
