The political philosophy of surveillance

: from historical roots to COVID-19

Abstract

Many theorists have argued that surveillance has become the dominant organizing method of social activities in late modernity. Given the increased prevalence and employment of surveillance systems around the world, this thesis seeks to trace and contextualize the developments in surveillance, both theoretically and practically, that have led to its current extent and nature. We begin by analyzing the philosophical theories that provide the normative frameworks which condone, recommend, limit and make it meaningful. This comprises Jeremy Bentham’s “Panopticon,” Michel Foucault’s “Disciplinary Societies” and “Panopticism,” Fredrick Winslow Taylor’s “Scientific Management,” and Gilles Deleuze’s “Societies of Control. ”Next, we describe the difference that digital technologies make to surveillance systems, namely that the former greatly enhance the latter’s ubiquity. As we shall see, COVID-19 is an important subject of analysis regarding surveillance since it has triggered an acceleration of technological development and influence. This second chapter will hence examine surveillance on three levels, describing the contexts in which surveillance has developed in each level, and how it is developing as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first concerns surveillance on a National Level, with a focus on government surveillance. The second involves surveillance on a City Level, including smart city operations and workplace surveillance, and the third assesses surveillance on a Personal Level, covering social media surveillance and smart home technology. In the final chapter, we underscore certain aspects of modern surveillance practices where either Bentham, Foucault, Taylor, or Deleuze’s principles are implicit. For social media surveillance, wealso draw from Shoshana Zuboff’s concept of “surveillance capitalism”. Lastly, the inherent differences and impact of surveillance operations for the current geopolitical and social order are highlighted, drawing from accounts that shed light on Autocracy’s empowerment with such technology, on Democracy’s increased potential for misuse, and on the likely repercussions of politically and socially employing surveillance systems. The conclusion then argues that surveillance, as it stands, has major potential to inherently and permanently alter the global political and social landscape.

Date of Award	15 Jul 2022
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	William Hasselberger (Supervisor)