Final Word from Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Jeremy Bentham, a 19th-century philosopher, designed what he called the perfect prison. His Panopticon would allow guards to observe the prisoners without being seen. If built, it could have allowed the guards to leave the prisoners unattended, because they would assume they were being watched. The new point-based traffic system is a Panopticon of the road. Drivers are so scared of being caught by the invisible police that they're obeying the law. But not top Czech police officials, who are being spotted speeding or driving drunk at the rate of one every few days. If left unpunished, Bentham would say, such behavior threatens the very stability of society. He was most famous for saying that actions are right if they produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. Nothing would make people happier than locking up these hypocritical lawbreakers in a high-walled prison. [Czech Republic English England František Bublan Vratislav Husák Michel Čaš highway road]