In Michel Foucault¡¦s essay, ¡§Panopticism¡¨, he makes the argument that we are all living in a society of surveillance where discipline is being effectively achieved through the power of surveillance. The power of surveillance, as described by Foucault, is ¡§visible and unverifiable¡¨ (312), and is the basis for forming discipline in society because it draws the individual to believe that the world he lives in is one that is continually watching over him. Constant surveillance brings about anxiety resulting in discipline in the individual. According to Foucault, the power and effectiveness of this model of surveillance in achieving discipline makes the use physical force as in the traditional model of prisons in the past no longer necessary. He uses Bentham¡¦s Panopticon to illustrate the power of surveillance.

The Panopticon is a marvelous machine which, whatever use one may wish to put it to, produces homogeneous effects of power ¡K It is not necessary to use force to constrain the convict to good behaviour, the madman to calm, the worker to work, the schoolboy to application, the patient to the observation of the regulations. (313)

What was mentioned was not an isolated example of the limitations of the panoptic model in our society. People are no longer fearful of the power of surveillance because people have found ways of escaping surveillance in order to be disciplined. Foucault talked about Bentham¡¦s dream, of

Bentham¡¦s dream is just an ideal that can never be achieved in our society due to the fact that we cannot generate a society where surveillance can always be put into effect. The power of surveillance and productivity, as brought forward by Foucault, are thus limited in maintaining order and benefiting our society. The internet is an example of how surveillance loses its power in discipline because it is a lot more difficult for it to operate in such an environment. The internet resembles the Panopticon because people are being constantly surveilled by others who are also on the internet, without knowing who is observing them or when they are being observed. However, although people on the internet are constantly being surveilled, their identity can be easily disguised by a different name, email or location. People are therefore not fearful of the surveillance present on the internet anymore because they can easily get away with crime by their disguise. Perhaps this is able to explain why people choose to commit crimes through the internet. Spreading of viruses, hacking of computers, selling of pirated discs on the internet are all examples of crime on the internet due to the limitation of the panoptic model. It failed its purpose as a disciplinary mechanism and as a productive agent on the internet because of the system of the internet that caused it to fail to impose a psychological effect of fear in us to discipline ourselves. Bentham¡¦s dream will remain a dream, for it may not be possible for the panoptic model to work effectively and productively in all situations and environment, such as the example of the internet mentioned above.

Before we can further discuss on the limitations of surveillance in discipline we have to understand how surveillance work under the Panoptic model. Panopticism, as put forward by Foucault, is a principle based on the Panopticon, a prison designed by an English reformer and philosopher named Bentham. The Panopticon consists of a central tower encircled by a ring of cells. A window is present in each cell that lets light in from the outside, creating backlighting to the inmates in the cells. In other words, the Panopticon is designed in a way to ensure no prisoners can see the guard in the central tower, while the guard is able to observe every

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