Historical analysis of the prison system by Michel Foucault. - Title: Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison - Author: Michel Foucault - Translator: Satoshi Tamura - Publisher: Shinchosha - Price: 4300 yen "Discipline and Punish" fundamentally overturns the common sense notion that "modernity became humane." It reveals that the transition from public executions to imprisonment was not merely the result of civilization or progress, but a shift towards a more sophisticated form of power that controls humans more deeply. In the public executions of the 18th century, the bodies of criminals were torn apart, burned, and exposed as a spectacle, and punishment was directly inscribed on the "body." However, these scenes gradually disappeared, replaced by the prison, time-based sentences, and the system of correction. At first glance, this appears to be progress from violence to reason, from barbarity to humanity. However, according to Foucault, punishment did not simply become "gentler," but the target of power shifted from the body to the "soul." Instead of inflicting pain on the bodies of criminals, prisons attempt to correct their life rhythms, behavior, thoughts, and self-awareness itself. In this way, people are transformed from "beings who are punished" to "beings who are constantly evaluated and observed." The Panopticon (a surveillance facility) is a symbol of this. Prisoners are constantly exposed to the possibility of being watched, but they do not know if they are actually being observed. This uncertainty internalizes self-discipline without external coercion. What is important is that this principle spreads not only within the special space of the prison but throughout modern society, including schools, the military, factories, and hospitals. Foucault acknowledges that prisons "fail to reduce crime," but they continue to exist as institutions because, while they are powerless in deterring crime, they are extremely effective as a device for classifying people, separating the normal from the abnormal, and placing them as manageable individuals. In other words, the true function of the prison is not "security" but "governance." Thank you for reading.