Notion of Disciplinary Societies and Societies of Control Essay

Notion of Disciplinary Societies and Societies of Control - Essay Example Various ways of control are done as laws are not the only means of it but also through rewards and punishment (Deleuze 1995, p. 5). People who show exemplary values to the society by following the laws and doing their duties for the society are rewarded. On the other hand, violators face the consequence of their actions as they receive the punishment. Punishments are then penalized in various ways and in different degrees. Bribes and stealing may be penalized by lighter sanctions like less than a year of spending time inside the jail or by fines. Higher degrees of crimes are punishable by the law via life sentence and even death penalty (Foucault 1977, p. 130). Another way of prevention of those crimes is through discipline. It is primarily taught at school as the learners must learn the value of self-control. Other programs are even conducted by the government to ensure the proliferation of discipline among the people in the society. It is a good way of preventing crimes from becomi ng widespread. It also serves as a way of control though it may not be a direct approach. The time nowadays seems to pass by quickly as changes happen almost everyday. The technology advancement accelerates at the speed of information that leads to the creation of the digital age. Information is primarily an important entity for that age as geographical boundaries have been overcome by the geniuses of the people. Networks and computers are now used for education, business and collaboration across fields of interests as people have seen the vast potential of the technology (Best, 2010, p. 6). Internet has proven to be a cost-effective way of advertising and conducting businesses as companies both big and small are able to reach out to a wider range of audience and potential market as they do not need to physically go to other faraway locations just to conduct their businesses. Education also benefits from the technology of the worldwide web as students are able to study anytime and a nywhere. It serves as a good form of education especially for the working class. Through online classrooms, multimedia supported web pages and online forums, students are able to study in a flexible manner. Despite of those advantages, the growing popularity and use of internet has posed various risks especially to the security of people. Their identities are transmitted through the interconnected wires and sensitive data are shared. Sometimes it may become the source for frauds, scams and even national threats (Agre, 1994, p. 102). It may pose a big risk to the liberties of the individuals and nations alike. In particular, two concepts will be discussed deeply in the paper based upon the notions of the two authors namely Michel Foucault and Gilles Deleuze. Foucault wrote about the discipline in the society through his work Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison while Deleuze wrote about the societal control through his work Postscript on the Society of Control. Both concept s will be compared and contrast and analyzed regarding their implications to the current state of the society where mobile phones, computers and internet are widely-used. The concept of discipline in the society as depicted by Foucault showed the starting point of control and how the society deals with crimes. The society was once