Foucault Discipline and Punishment

Through out his book Foucault talk about discipline and that through discipline historical change can happen.  Those who can impose discipline on other would be the state, though not the state as an individual but the state as in those who are in charge of our institutions that manipulate and indoctrinate people’s minds, instruction, and points of view.  These are very subtle ways the state has been able to control the populace and its motives would be for the greater good of the state. By establishing standards and rules for prisons, schools, and even hospitals, the state is able to control almost every aspect of its peoples lives. 

While Foucault also brings this discipline and punishment by the state method into how the army at the time was trained. There are very striking similarities to how the soldiers were training and indoctrinated to how young school aged children were. They were able to respond to commands even if it was a ring of bell.  This manipulation of behavior in society is the way that state is able to remain invisible to those it is manipulating. They are able to remain unseen and totally observe the outside world as if it is an experiment they are trying to conduct.  They are then able to make changes, bring on harsher punishments, and/or rules if necessary.  The state bleats that the individual is the key to success, creativity, and uniqueness in a society. While they are actually suppressing the individual making them believe they are contributing to the state in their own way when in actuality the individuals are just simple cogs in the whole machine that makes the state.