A response to my latest post from @Valued-Customer got me thinking about something I didn't really explore in the article itself: independence.

His argument was centered around decentralization and how spreading production and capability across individuals and communities can reduce the leverage created by centralized power.

If you have no realistic alternative, then your ability to refuse is pretty limited, even if nobody is physically holding a gun to your head. The more capable you are of providing for yourself, cooperating with others, and walking away from a particular source of power, the more meaningful your ability to say no becomes.

How meaningful is a choice when refusing it isn't really a viable option?

I wrote the original argument in much more depth on my Substack:

Can Consent Coexist With Obedience?