The Radical Fool of Capitalism: On Jeremy Bentham, the Panopticon, and the Auto-Icon

by Christian Welzbacher, Elisabeth Lauffer (Translator)

A fresh interpretation of Jeremy Bentham, finding that his “radical foolery” embodied a social ethics that was revolutionary for its time. Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) is best remembered today as the founder of utilitarianism (a philosophy infamously abused by the Victorians) and the conceiver of the Panopticon, the circular prison house in which all prisoners could be seen by an unseen observer—later seized upon by Michel Foucault as the apotheosis of the neoliberal control society. In this volume in the Untimely Meditation series, Christian Welzbacher offers a new interpretation of Bentham, arguing that his “radical foolery” (paraphrasing Goethe's characterization of Bentham) actually embodied a social ethics that was new for its time and demands proper historical contextualization rather than retroactive analysis from the vantage point of late capitalism. Welzbacher provides just such an analysis, offering an account of the two great utilitarian projects that occupied Bentham all his the Panopticon and the Auto-Icon. Welzbacher rescues the Panopticon from the misapprehensions of Foucault, Orwell, and Lacan, arguing that Bentham saw the Panopticon as a pedagogical instrument incorporating the tenets of reason; construction and function, plan and influence, architecture and politics are brought into alignment. Bentham extolled the discovery in words that could easily be ascribed to Le Corbusier, Bruno Taut, or any other modernist architect. The Auto-Icon expressed Bentham's theories that the dead should benefit later generations; these theories were effectively sealed when Bentham decided to have his body preserved and put on display. (It can be seen today in a cabinet at University College London.) He also donated his inner organs to science—a practice outlawed at the time—and posthumously stage-managed his own ceremonial autopsy. Welzbacher reveals a Bentham who raised questions that feel familiar and current, invoking topoi that would come to define the modern era and that reverberate to this day.

Genres: Philosophy

216 pages, Paperback

Published April 20, 2018

Reviews

[WM Hall · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author seeks to "rescue" Bentham from the misapprehensions of Foucault et al but does little of the sort. The author notes that the retroactive interpretation or application of the panopticon as embodiment of neoliberal economics and surveillance is incorrect, but proceeds to argue that Bentham, inspired by Adam Smith, sought for the panopticon to provide "fertile ground for the powers of the free market to start effecting societal reform" (58). He continues: "Only when the panopticon is run like a corporation, free from political regulation, can the system effectively regulate itself". Neoliberalism is, as we know, a perversion-of-sorts of classical liberalism - and the author only reaffirms Foucault's (Orwell, Lacan's) interpretation of the panoptical form as neoliberal precursor and tool. Or am I simply confused, misreading the text?

Otherwise, it is a well-presented, readable, engaging book. But its weakness of argument and, further, lack of description of what the panopticon's intended affects - its psychological or sociopolitical products - were let it down.

[Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting read, using this for part of my thesis due in June. Only improvement would be slightly more content as the chapters are short and conclusion felt a bit rushed as a result, but did really enjoy this overall and got through it very quickly as a result.