The deterrent theory was slowly done away with. Foucault believed that the primary reason behind any kind of punishment in the pre-American and French revolution periods was to preserve the power structure in society and maintain social order other than actually preventing crime or want of justice. The kind of punishment which would be best suited is still highly debated because of the moral superiority we have been embedded with today however, most people are accepting of the reformative theory, a theory built on the ‘hate the sin and not the sinner’ principle which focusses on the criminal rather than crime and seeks to bring about a change in the attitude of the offender to rehabilitate him/her as a law-abiding member of society.
The theories of punishment we use today have evolved from different theories over a period of time. Numerous contemporary examples from different corners of the world exposing the various methods adopted by the society and the governments in light of Foucault's analysis of the panopticon, which if not paid heed to soon may threaten to destroy our entire foundation of the society along with the power and authority of the sovereign or the government becoming uncertain have been further elaborated to get a better understanding of the topic. However, a deeper understanding of Foucault's analysis reveals how our judicial system's incompetence wasn't our problem, but our social structure and society is what brings us down in an attempt to safeguard the government's authority and power and produce 'obedient' citizens. How we are leading lives where we are under constant surveillance and the pressure to conform to the 'norm.' He points out how even the sighest digression from what is structured to be 'normal' by the society puts us into the limelight and, for most parts into trouble.
However, Micheal Focualt analysed Bentham's idea of the panopticon and stated how we live in a society that is being evolved into the same panopticon structure. The deterrent theory soon got based on Bentham's idea of the panopticon, which is still followed today. The theory aimed to achieve a fundamental shift from bodily harm to the transformation, discipline, and control of the mind and body of the criminal to be a better fit in society.
We shifted from the deterrent theory to the reformative theory due to its threat posed to the power of the sovereign. The different kinds of theories of punishment have been hugely debated over time.
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