Extortion is a legal term but colloquially it’s the best word to define what occurs in an authoritarian environment. Extortion is the manifestation of control, and it’s everywhere: family, friends, religion, society. You alone are nothing but sport to bullies so you agree to be extorted in exchange for protection from those stronger than you. However, the people who protect you want something in return and you don’t set their payment, they do. Sometimes it’s a benign government or benevolent business owner whose demands on you are not onerous, but most often both public & private interests extort the public to satisfy greed or grasp for even more control: if you don’t pay you’re taxes, you go to jail; if you don’t sign an ethics pledge, you lose your license; if you don’t get vaccinated, you can’t work here. Extortion is what makes society functional, or more likely, makes it dysfunctional.

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