Surveillance - A Double Edged Sword
SURVEILLANCE
The action of power since the beginning of modernity is found not in the exercising of vertical, one-way authority but takes place through a network that spans the whole of society
A central issue in Foucault's book published 35 years ago is the action of power. Foucault describes the beginning of modernity is found not in the exercising of vertical, one-way authority, but also takes place through a network that spans the whole of society and is made up of relationships that directly affect us.
Through the microscopic surveillance entwined with our relationships, not only are our bodies trained to the rules and discipline of society; we live lives where all aspects of our everyday activity are individually recorded in a minute detailed information network. This signifies a move from suppressing the body to the action of “authority over the body”, which disciplines it. Such a situation proves that modernization has not liberated humans but, on the contrary, is controlling them effectively.
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