The Panopticon

     The Panopticon is a type of prison system developed by Jeremy Bentham. It is a system where there is one tower in the middle, with a bright blinding light shining like a beacon to the surrounding cells around the permitter. It is set up so that the prison inmates can not tell whether or not the prison warden is watching their very move, from how they breath to even how they sleep. The entire purpose is to train and condition the prison inmates into paranoia. The end result will either have the victims go mad with paranoia and fear that they are always bing watched, which is the point of the system, or the alternative to have them know their place. That they cannot so much as think without supervision is a good way to train and discipline the victims to obey under the iron grip of authority. It is a brilliant way to have absolute control over the victims. A downside to this system is if the victims fall prey to madness and insanity, unforntatly that is not something anyone can control. It is a wildcard in the game of absolute power and dominance. Personally, I would not use this system, despite its effectiveness. I would not because, while it is conveint to control someone by manipulating their psyche, there is something morally wrong about it. In order to use it, the one's in power have to have a densensitivity to social and moral qualms to use the system to its full potential. Although i personally am fond of control, I prefer unpredictability in a person. To subcomb the prisoners into paranoid hysterics is not only wrong, but I would want them to not break under the pressure. I would want them to fight back, bring despair upon their captors and drive them into madness, as long as its unprdictable, thats what makes humans interesting and fun.