Michel Foucault's 'Panopticism' is a metaphor for the modern disciplinary society. Based on Bentham's prison design—a circular building with a central tower from which all inmates can be observed without knowing they are being watched—the Panopticon creates a 'state of conscious and permanent visibility.' Because the inmates never know exactly when they are being observed, they begin to monitor themselves. Discipline is no longer enforced through external violence or the public spectacle of punishment; it is internalized. This mechanism of 'self-surveillance' is highly efficient, as it requires very few actual guards to maintain order. Foucault argues that this logic has spread beyond the prison to schools, hospitals, and factories, transforming individuals into 'docile bodies' that conform to social norms without the need for constant supervision.