The Perfect Utopia Will Never Be A Reality

Change over time; that is a common theme with everything in the world. The concept of punishment is no different in that regard. In the 16th and 17th century the common view for punishing people was retaliation from the king and to be done in the town square. In what seemed to be all of a sudden, there was a change in human thinking, the concept of punishment changed to a more psychological approach compared to a public embarrassment/torture approach. The following paragraphs will discuss the development of prisons and what in fact gives people gives people the right to punish; as well as the overall meaning and function of prisons. The work by Michel Foucault in Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison will help with the arguments

Every person has their own personal vision of utopia. My utopia may be filled with libraries and cats, while yours would probably look very different. In Frankenstein, Shelley gives us Victor Frankenstein, a man who envisions a world where he will never feel the pain of losing someone he loves again. He devises a way to cheat

Crime is inevitable in society, whether it be in traditional societies or in modern society. However, with an action, there are 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 paper will summarize the author’s main points; provide a comparison with a theorist previously lectured on in class, as well as a personal interpretation of Foucault’s arguments.

A utopian society would be classified as perfect and just for all. This society has been conceived numerous times throughout history along with numerous ideologies. Although these ideologies have solved specific problems, none of them can be considered perfect due to numerous perceptions, which in turn would prevent perfection. In 1984, the Party made a totalitarian government. Like other oppressive governments throughout history, the ideology designed by the Party was not capable of creating a society that could support all people. Currently democracy provides the best society, but can still create oppositions of views. Even though some ideologies may present themselves as ideal, when applied to reality, they fail due to uncontrollable factors. This means an “ideal” society is impossible for mankind to accomplish as proposed by the totalitarian government in 1984 and from historical events.

In the chapter, “The body of the Condemned,” Foucault addresses the evolution of the punishment system and how it has gone from being a public spectacle to something that is done behind closed doors. Foucault opens the chapter with an extremely descriptive and gory representation of a public execution. The purpose of this was to display how execution have changed from being in the public eye to behind closed doors using the electric chair and legal injections. It was done in this fashion to deter individuals from committing heinous crimes. Today, the cost of prison time, fines, etc.. deter individuals instead. Punishment has become less about effecting the body and more about the changing the souls and integrating them back into society.

In our lives today, we take advantage of all the luxuries that are presented daily. Freedom alone is one of the greatest luxuries we possess as an American nation. In Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs and Utopia by Thomas Moore, we are presented two life styles, which some might consider very similar in various ways. Both authors focus on a peaceful living lifestyle, to better the people of the nation. Although some of their specific details are different, I believe that Jacobs would definitely approve of the features that More develops in Utopia.

According to Foucault, individualism is harmful and is constructed through the acts of disciplinary power. Thus, Foucault describes disciplinary power as a new from of governance that modern society uses to exercise power through the use of constant surveillance (Rabinow, 1984). Disciplinary power works by conditioning, training and supervising individuals to behave in a publically accepted manner. Prior to the emergence of disciplinary power, traditional sovereign power was demonstrated which encouraged physical violence and strict rules and regulations to control individual (Rabinow, 1984). Controversially, disciplinary power is now a subtle form of physical power which renders more control but strays away from corporal punishment.

‘One man’s utopia is another man’s dystopia.’ This is a famous quote we must often bear in mind when writing about such topics and it is often fairly accurate. A utopian society, in this essay, will be defined as a “non-existent society that is described in considerable detail…” (Fitting, 1993, 1) and an ideal and visionary society that enjoys perfection in various fields such as politics, law and more as seen in Thomas More’s famous novel, Utopia. A positive utopian society is often impossible due to a variety of reasons, primarily human nature and the inevitable inequality found in these idealized societies. A prime example of how a utopian society is often impossible can be found in Andrew Niccol’s film, Gattaca (1997). The film Gattaca explores a new version of an idealized society, a utopia that revolves heavily around genetic engineering. In Gattaca, an individual’s future is delineated by his or

Firchow, Peter Edgerly. "George Orwell's Dystopias: From Animal Farm to Nineteen Eighty-Four." Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 11 Mar. 201

In a perfect utopian society everyone gets what they need because communication, understanding, and open mindedness of different ideas would be key. In order for a society to be a utopia, everyone has to be comfortable and be provided with their wants and needs and everything needs to function perfectly. In order for function and equality, people must compromise in thoughts and ideas to provide for everyone. To do that, one must have a good understanding of why others may think differently and have the ability to accept that. One of the many reasons our Earth is not a utopia is because of the competition and contradictory understandings of people, and the inability to accept other’s ideas. You do not have to believe what others believe, but respect for separate thought would make the world better. If everyone had their thoughts heard, were more sympathetic of different ideas and more capable of compromise, then there would possibly not be such gaps in social standing and humans dying from lack of basic needs while others bathe in gold.

Michel Foucault is a very famous French intellectual who practiced the knowledge of sociology. Foucault analyzed how knowledge related to social structures, in particular the concept of punishment within the penal system. His theory through, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, is a detailed outline of the disciplinary society; in which organizes populations, their relations to power formations, and the corresponding conceptions of the subjects themselves. Previously, this type of punishment focused on torture and dismemberment, in which was applied directly to bodies. Foucault mentions through his literary piece, “the soul is the effect and instrument of a political anatomy: the soul is the prison of the body (p.30). However, today, the notion of punishment involves public appearances in a court and much more humane sentences. However, it is important to note and to understand the idea of power and knowledge; it is fundamental to understand the social system as a whole.

To sum up, I think that critics on utopianism does not exist, because so called “utopian thoughts” seems to me just like the liberal thoughts in disguise. And those who criticise utopianism are just basicaly criticising liberalism. Can we really measure intensity of thought and then give it a different name? Is there really some line between liberalism and utopianism? What brought me to these questions and thoughts was the fact that some of the ideas of so called and criticised utopian thinkers were actually implemented and changed the view on the international politics. although it is hard to say if some of the Rawls´s theories were put into action, one clear example of achieved thoughts labelled utopian is The League of Nations ideal, or its new form – United Nations.

One main problem in this current society is racism or racial preference. This current society broke its people’s trust by police brutality. The most important thing that needs to be fixed in this society is equality; no matter race every human needs to be treated like a human not “alien”. In a perfect society, people are nice to each other and actually let others explain why he/she did what he/she did. Although many laws give rights to the person, these laws should not be for a certain race. This Utopia will consist of a theocratic government. Makarios means blessed or happy and that will be the name of Utopia.

This is a summary of Michel Foucault's seminal work on the history of criminal punishment and social discipline as it transformed from punitive to correctional models during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

For Foucault you cannot understand imprisonment without looking at torture first and how they both correlate to one another. Throughout this essay I will assess Foucault’s theories about torture and his views of how it has come about. I will look at how torture is a technique and the forms of disciplinary techniques that accompany torture. I will assess the power structures and how it manifests into other institutions in today’s society. Lastly how torture is needed to understand imprisonment. Torture was used as a scare tactic in the past to keep individuals under control. Society was aware of what may occur to them if they disobeyed the law. This initiated power and discipline over citizens which helps us to understand power relations today in terms of imprisonment.