Reformers sought to redistribute punitive power throughout the whole social body.
Evidence
The true objective of the reform movement, even in its most general formulations, was not so much to establish a new right to punish based on more equitable principles, as to set up a new ‘economy’ of the power to punish, to assure its better distribution, so that it should be neither too concentrated at certain privileged points, nor too divided between opposing authorities; so that it should be distributed in homogeneous circuits capable of operating everywhere, in a continuous way, down to the finest grain of the social body. — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 135
Categorization
- DEFINE: Foucault defines the reformers’ real goal as a spatial economy of power rather than humane principles — matching the panopticon’s continuous, fine-grained coverage thesis.
- XREF: Connects directly to Bentham’s panopticon design: homogeneous circuits, continuous operation ‘down to the finest grain’ prefigures the inspection house. — connects to: Reformers designed punishment as a public didactic spectacle for all citizens — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 183; Penal reform sought not less punishment but more universal, deeper social control — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 136; Large societies delegate moral punishment to specialized paid institutions. — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality: The…, 215
Related
- Penal reform sought not less punishment but more universal, deeper social control (similarity 0.88)
- Reformers reframed punishment as protection rather than vengeance (similarity 0.86)
- Reformers criticized the economy of power, not its cruelty. (similarity 0.85)
- Penal reform aimed to increase punishment’s effects while lowering its costs. (similarity 0.85)
- Penal reform succeeded by managing illegalities differentially, not eliminating them (similarity 0.84)
- Reformers designed punishment as a public didactic spectacle for all citizens (similarity 0.83)
- Reform-era punishment was future-directed, aimed at prevention (similarity 0.83)
- Reformers shifted punishment’s aim from expiation to prevention (similarity 0.82)
- Reform punishment shifted example from sovereign display to economic obstacle (similarity 0.81)
- Modern universal imprisonment was not the reformers’ original design (similarity 0.81)
- European and American punishment was entirely reorganized in less than a century (similarity 0.80)
- Punishment’s severity must aim at future prevention, not past harm (similarity 0.80)
- Penal reform arose from a policy shift, not new humanitarian feeling (similarity 0.79)
- The rise of the prison institutionalized the power to punish (similarity 0.79)
- Humane punishment is really an economic regulation of power effects (similarity 0.79)
Broader Connections
- Reformers designed punishment as a public didactic spectacle for all citizens
#expands(0.75) — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 183 - Penal reform sought not less punishment but more universal, deeper social control
#qualifies(0.72) — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 136 - Large societies delegate moral punishment to specialized paid institutions.
#complicates(0.70) — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 215