Throughout history we can easily observe different methods and programs which make an effort towards regulating and organizing society. Discipline is the power and the focus of regulation and controlling the individuals in a society. Two forms of this power that can easily be seen throughout history are sovereign power and the aptly named disciplinary power. Sovereign power is an exceptional “negative” power that focuses on punishment, whereas disciplinary power focuses on surveillance and individualizing. Sovereign power has since been replaced by disciplinary power as the dominate form of regulating society due to its more efficient and productive results throughout history.
In Foucault’s article, he describes sovereign power as the “old” method of power that is expressed through identifiable individuals such as a king. The power is acted on whoever they want (exceptional) and is regarded as being a “negative” form of exercising power in that it is conducted in a punitive manner. Foucault describes the use of this power used on the people locked in their houses during the plague and the unfortunate lepers: “If he leaves the street, he will be condemned to death” (Foucault 209), and “the leper was caught up in a practice of rejection, of exile-enclosure; he was left to his doom in a mass among which it was useless to differentiate” (Foucault 212). Both quotes are examples of how sovereign power uses force and harsh punishments to obtain order and cooperation. To stop the spread of the plague, people were quarantined in their homes and forbidden to leave on pain of death. The lepers were exiled and cast out of society due to their conditions. Sovereign power acts in very concrete and visual ways that are easily identifiable. Sovereign power is not a completely negative power however. It enforces necessary components of society such as paying taxes, enforces the law by exacting penalties, and even raises armies in time of war. Sovereign power in the military is...