Power, Politics and Society - Assignment Example

SOCIETY, POWER AND POLITICS Course: Student: Tutor: Date: РОWЕR, РОLITIСS & SОСIЕTY Q1 The account of power by Foucault considers power in social terms, that is, it is comprehended in relational terms amid organisations, more generally among groups either economic, political and society. Power is universal because it does not belong to anyone. The main control medium is surveillance and this is the power which is represented in the Panopticon. This paper evaluates the extent to which power in a modern society can be understood while emphasising on the Panopticon paradigm. Moderated surveillance is being practised by modern governments and citizens are watched by specific government security agencies, this helps in countering crimes in society, this has been effectively used by various government agencies like the CIA, NSA,MOSAAD, MI5 and many more. Modern surveillance, in this case, is a show of power that the government has over this sensitive topic such as national security. However, such power is also moderated due to the law limiting camera reconnaissance on the streets. Through technology, surveillance is enhanced; however, the social theory provides framework which limits it and makes it more meaningful (Wee, 2011 pp.37-56). Additionally, the government through its power ensures that it does not misuse power given to it. Therefore, most governments have adopted the concept of governmentality which is associated with the famous French philosopher Michel Foucault. In this case, there is supposed to be an existing mutual relationship between the government and the citizens. Hence, an action by the government results in a reaction from the citizens. As a result, the government’s negative action in relation to surveillance might result in a negative and detrimental reaction from the society (Lyon, 2008 pp.653-678). Moreover, the society is claimed to have the perception that the government surveillance is a strict set of laws and punishments meant to intimidate citizens and stamp its authority. However, despite this perception of the society which is clearly against the government‘s surveillance intentions for instance, surveillance reflects the power possessed and the need by governments to secure desirable behaviour and to deter undesirable threats in the society at large. Panopticon relates to the vision of rational social control; in this case, the society seems to have a negative perception of any form of surveillance since it appears to be too much power bestowed on specific individuals and organizations which is detriment to the general concept of privacy. In regards to the paradigm of panopticon, the society seems to be against the surveillance having that they can be watched at any given time but they are not in a position to see who is watching them. Consequently, the society sees surveillance as an infringement of their social life due to the watchtower concept and the extent of power possessed by the government over them. Thus, it can be argued that the public feels powerless over the government since they do not know whether they are being watched or not. On the other hand, this somewhat gives the government some substantial amount of power over the public which leads to the public not being contended with such power being owned by one particular entity like the government (Gombert, 2013). In this case, the psychological objective of the public makes them believe that they are subjects of surveillance and their only logical option is to conform to the government surveillance due to the amount of power that the government has hence have a feeling of being powerless. In this case, the society is forced to accept the surveillance by the government as the inner reality of self-policing. Surveillance has been a hot topic used by various social groups and politicians to help them advance their agendas (Shin-dongsoon 2010, p.160). This issue has for some time now caused a lot of debate, especially on the political field. In this case, politicians have seen this as a main issue of interest which they have used in fostering their political careers. They oppose surveillance terming it unorthodox method that the government uses to infringe on the privacy and social life of the public. Thus politicians are always at crossroads on whether to support this claim or not. Politicians who support this public claim are known to receive overwhelming support in their political course, this; therefore, make this issue an influential factor in politics (Shin-dongsoon, 2010 p.169). Moreover, the support of this public claim also gives the politicians a solid platform for them to take a dig at the government portraying their faults in governance in an effort to instigate their political cause (Rajagopal 2008, pp.9). In this case, the Panopticon is an "ideal" or "architectural figure" of power in the current society. Foucault, claimed that the Panopiticon is an institutional model with its main principle being power. He further claims that the Panopticon is a mechanism of power which has been reduced to its ideal form. He also acknowledged that it also faced a great amount of resistance and friction (Shin-dongsoon, 2010 pp.161). Similarly, the Panopticon is considered a figure of political technology which deprives the society freedom and privacy. He also believed that through this, the panopticon concept could be applied in any sphere due to the power that the government has for itself, however he also cautions that some level of regulation is required. The outcry against governments power through is surveillance has over the year increased especially with the invention of the closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras which appears to be worse that the surveillance camera on streets. Though Foucault claims that there is no any quite huge difference, in fact, the closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras is the same prevalent objective to deter the privacy and freedom of the public. In this case, people are forced to live with the constant threat of facing the repercussion of being caught by these cameras (Lyon, 2008 p.655). Surveillance also portrays power in the modern society in organizations, especially in the shopping mall concept. In the shopping mall I often feel that I am always under scrutiny something that makes me angered due to the surveillance. The large open spaces between the shelves with visible lighting which are meant to symbolize freedom for me do not actually feel like freedom but entanglement and suspicion. On the other hand, the gallery designed walkways which ensure that the closed circuit television (CCTV) covered all the floors. For instance, when I was shopping at Woolworths stores in Perth I felt like my privacy was threatened when I went shopping there, this symbolizes the power that Woolworths has over the customers. In this case, they are ready for any theft action and the closed circuit television (CCTV) gives them a slight upper hand over shoplifting cases. Additionally, I also feel that my privacy is threatened in the shopping mall through the various CCTVs plastered all over and the shop assistants who act as a third eye watching over the proceedings in the mall with the sole purpose of trying to catch shoplifters on the act (Wee, 2011 p.39). For me I felt that this is a show of power and can be compared to the government surveillances which enable it to witness any criminal act taking place, therefore, the government and powerful organizations have always had power in fighting crime as well as preventing it. In conclusion, there is clearly a close relationship between power politics and society in relation to power in modern society. Governments have been known to use power and tools at their disposal to protect their citizens as well as advance their agendas with a total disregard of the public perception. On the other hand, the politicians manipulated this to their advantage by trying to win over votes from the public by criticizing the government from it surveillance as a show of abuse of power and an infringement to the privacy of citizens. Surveillance is good but the extent to which the governments misuses it as a tool of intimidation, is an issue of concern globally and strict rules and regulations need to be formulated to regulate the extent to which this power can be used. References Gombert, K. (2013). An 'Opportunistic Interpretation' of Bentham's Panopticon Writings. Journal of Bentham Studies. Lyon, D. (2008). An electronic panopticon? A sociological critique of surveillance theory. The Sociological Review, 41(4), pp.653-678. Rajagopal, I. (2008). Cons in the panopticon: Anti–globalization and cyber–piracy. First Monday, pp9(9). Shin-dongsoon, (2010). Blind Mountain and a Panopticon-like society. China Studies, 49(null), pp.155-173. Wee, L. (2011). The ranked list as Panopticon in enterprise culture. PS, 2(1), pp.37-56. Q2 In the present years, the establishment of the views of semantic density and sematic gravity comprise or form part of the legitimation code theory which forms the basis of social realism. These codes find their roots deep into the views of hierarchical and horizontal structures of knowledge. As per the legitimation code theory, some social groups tend to be the horizontal structure of knowledge while others tend to experience the hierarchical structure of knowledge This, therefore, implies that some social groups do better in education than others. But it can be understood that education comprises of various knowledge areas, and as well each knowledge area has got its own specific and unique vocabularies that it applies to explain complex ideas or phrases or terms. As a result of this then various social groups will experience different degrees as they pursue their education in the different knowledge areas that they specialize in. For instance, some social classes may find difficulty in understanding chemistry due to its intensive use of molecular formula and the assumptions by the tutors that each student understands them and hence no need to consume time explaining them. On the other hand, some social classes will find it cheap enough to understand humanities, thus the two knowledge areas may be regarded as horizontal hierarchical- the humanities and the pure sciences as hierarchical knowledge (Clarence 2015, p.129). This emphasizes on legitimation code theory to illustrate why some social classes do better in education than others. Semantic gravity which is part of the legitimation code theory describes the extent to which a context relates to the meaning which can either be weaker or stronger. Thus some social groups have an easy understanding of a concept or context and can easily relate it to meaning hence they become in a position that they can do better. However, some social group may find difficulty in relating context to the meaning which implies therefore that they will most likely not do better in education (Hay, 2016, p.73). The disparities in the performance between social groups may also be attributed to the challenges experienced in teaching context. It is clear that the teaching of knowledge requires moving from the quadrant in the lower left hand into the quadrant in the right hand (Blackie, 2014, 464). But oblique movement, that is attempting to establish a specialised language and at the same time developing conceptual abstraction level, creates problems. As such it would be like you are trying to teach a second language hence this being perceived as a try of addressing concerns of semantic density. However, it should be again noted that learning a given knowledge field is far great than just new words learning. By this, therefore, it can be viewed that the social groups who are not able to catch up fast in learning such new words are unlikely to perform better than the social class who will have the easy of learning such new words quicker thus performing better (Blackie 2014, p.467). The application of semantic waves may also be regarded to explain the better performance in education in some social group as opposed to another. Yet when an individual introduces a word that is new to ensure that one makes use of the new word in between simpler and more familiar words helps to ensure that what is being expressed is understood by the intended individuals and the society at large (Hay, 2016, p.75). Through this approach, the ones who are struggling in education can be helped to succeed. The one who is teaching such social groups need not ignore explaining some terms even if he or she has used them before or explained then in earlier sessions. It is important to note that semantic gravity and semantic waves should not be used in an absolute way but rather should be used in a relative way (Clarence, 2015, p.125). Consequently, the understanding of an individual will depend on the foundation knowledge of the person. By this, it will be easy to introduce a subject to a class comprising of mixed social groups thus helping them to understand the fundamentals of the given knowledge area. In addition, this makes the language not to be ‘dense’ and neither the subject to abstract to the social group that is struggling to understand or succeed. Such social group will not necessarily comprehend or link the terms or vocabulary used, however, it will be logical to make the assumption that such individuals will be in a position to understand most of those terms as they are used in the knowledge area (Hay, 2016, p.62). The use of terms should be coupled with the explanation of what they mean. Those teaching need not assume that every individual has understood but rather should try to make sure that even those who are struggling to succeed or understand are at par with the rest. This, therefore, requires consciousness so that what is sought, the objective of teaching, may be helpful (Arbaugh, Fornaciari and Hwang, 2016, p.26). That is assisting students so that they can be able to appropriately use language and new terms and phrases as well as what is happening in the knowledge areas that they are pursuing. It is also paramount to enable a decrease in the semantic gravity. Enabling such decrease will assist in the transition to a higher abstraction from a lower abstraction (Hay, 2016, p.13). Thus, through recognizing the very subject matter which is a hurdle to the struggling students. Second means of weakening the semantic gravity is by indicating terms that are new to the students. It can be supposed that the most effective way of reducing abstraction is by constant engagement of the students in activities for instance practical (Arbaugh, Fornaciari and Hwang, 2016, p.34). But for such practical activities or engagements to be effective in the application of the concepts, questions after such engagements should be imposed to gauge if the students understood what they were doing as well as why it is important to students to comprehend entirely what is going on in their knowledge areas. Any individual teaching any knowledge area at the whatsoever level will understand that there is normally a breach amid a presentation that is idealized and application in the actual world. The application of legitimation code theory is not indifferent. The manner in which individuals teach needs to be influenced by the semantic waves to a given degree (Hay, 2016, 32). This implies that individuals need to be careful while transitioning between low and high semantic density, strong and weak semantic gravity. This helps students understand more. Such a transition needs a rewording and not just a pace that is slower. In addition, it should include the introduction of diverse representation kinds all of which assist students of any social group to better capture the material presented in an effective way. The setting of examinations should utilise all the quadrants. That is the questions that are selected for the examination ought to transition amid higher and lower density (Clarence, 2015, 131). And by this, it becomes easy to assess the understanding of student at any social group and especially the ones who are struggling to succeed so that they can be assisted further. Moreover, the manner of assessment has an important impact on the nature in which students learn. Thus it requires the development of a framework which will be very effective to inform as well as moderate the knowledge areas. In conclusion, the application of the semantic gravity and density ideas that form part of legitimation code theory is critical in providing a significant framework that can enrich a teaching practice. Societies are stratified differently and thus individual need to be treated and handled according to their capabilities. There is a need to set exams using these quadrants as this will enable an easy understanding on the part of student at any social group and this will be instrumental in helping them succeed. The manner in which the assessment is carried out is instrumental in impacting on the nature in which students are expected to learn. Thus, this calls for a need to develop a structure which will be very effective in informing and moderating various knowledge areas. References Arbaugh, J., Fornaciari, C. and Hwang, A. (2016). Identifying Research Topic Development in Business and Management Education Research Using Legitimation Code Theory. Journal of Management Education. Blackie, M. (2014). Creating semantic waves: using Legitimation Code Theory as a tool to aid the teaching of chemistry. Chem. Educ. Res. Pract., 15(4), pp.462-469. Clarence, S. (2015). Exploring the nature of disciplinary teaching and learning using Legitimation Code Theory Semantics. Teaching in Higher Education, 21(2), pp.123-137. Hay, C. (2016). Knowledge, Creativity and Failure. Cham: Springer International Publishing. Read More

Panopticon relates to the vision of rational social control; in this case, the society seems to have a negative perception of any form of surveillance since it appears to be too much power bestowed on specific individuals and organizations which is detriment to the general concept of privacy. In regards to the paradigm of panopticon, the society seems to be against the surveillance having that they can be watched at any given time but they are not in a position to see who is watching them. Consequently, the society sees surveillance as an infringement of their social life due to the watchtower concept and the extent of power possessed by the government over them.

Thus, it can be argued that the public feels powerless over the government since they do not know whether they are being watched or not. On the other hand, this somewhat gives the government some substantial amount of power over the public which leads to the public not being contended with such power being owned by one particular entity like the government (Gombert, 2013). In this case, the psychological objective of the public makes them believe that they are subjects of surveillance and their only logical option is to conform to the government surveillance due to the amount of power that the government has hence have a feeling of being powerless.

In this case, the society is forced to accept the surveillance by the government as the inner reality of self-policing. Surveillance has been a hot topic used by various social groups and politicians to help them advance their agendas (Shin-dongsoon 2010, p.160). This issue has for some time now caused a lot of debate, especially on the political field. In this case, politicians have seen this as a main issue of interest which they have used in fostering their political careers. They oppose surveillance terming it unorthodox method that the government uses to infringe on the privacy and social life of the public.

Thus politicians are always at crossroads on whether to support this claim or not. Politicians who support this public claim are known to receive overwhelming support in their political course, this; therefore, make this issue an influential factor in politics (Shin-dongsoon, 2010 p.169). Moreover, the support of this public claim also gives the politicians a solid platform for them to take a dig at the government portraying their faults in governance in an effort to instigate their political cause (Rajagopal 2008, pp.9). In this case, the Panopticon is an "ideal" or "architectural figure" of power in the current society.

Foucault, claimed that the Panopiticon is an institutional model with its main principle being power. He further claims that the Panopticon is a mechanism of power which has been reduced to its ideal form. He also acknowledged that it also faced a great amount of resistance and friction (Shin-dongsoon, 2010 pp.161). Similarly, the Panopticon is considered a figure of political technology which deprives the society freedom and privacy. He also believed that through this, the panopticon concept could be applied in any sphere due to the power that the government has for itself, however he also cautions that some level of regulation is required.

The outcry against governments power through is surveillance has over the year increased especially with the invention of the closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras which appears to be worse that the surveillance camera on streets. Though Foucault claims that there is no any quite huge difference, in fact, the closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras is the same prevalent objective to deter the privacy and freedom of the public. In this case, people are forced to live with the constant threat of facing the repercussion of being caught by these cameras (Lyon, 2008 p.655). Surveillance also portrays power in the modern society in organizations, especially in the shopping mall concept.

In the shopping mall I often feel that I am always under scrutiny something that makes me angered due to the surveillance.

Read More