A technician army replaced the executioner to mask punishment’s bodily reach

Evidence

Physical pain, the pain of the body itself, is no longer the constituent element of the penalty. From being an art of unbearable sensations punishment has become an economy of suspended rights. If it is still necessary for the law to reach and manipulate the body of the convict, it will be at a distance, in the proper way, according to strict rules, and with a much ‘higher’ aim. As a result of this new restraint, a whole army of technicians took over from the executioner, the immediate anatomist of pain: warders, doctors, chaplains, psychiatrists, psychologists, educationalists; by their very presence near the prisoner, they sing the praises that the law needs: they reassure it that the body and pain are not the ultimate objects of its punitive action. — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 46

Categorization

• XREF: This ‘army of technicians’ echoes the domestic peace technicians — psychologists, teachers — that normalize surveillance in household settings, the telescreen-era extensions the reader is connecting. — connects to: The Egyptian army replaced spectacular punishment with rehabilitative discipline; The penitentiary apparatus substitutes the delinquent for the offender. — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 386

Broader Connections

• The penitentiary apparatus substitutes the delinquent for the offender. #expands (0.85) — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 386
• The Egyptian army replaced spectacular punishment with rehabilitative discipline #exemplifies (0.78)