George Monbiot

We are often told that curtailing the freedom of business is coercive and undemocratic. But by what democratic principle should corporations and billionaires decide the fate of current and future generations? When a government releases them from regulation, it allows them to determine whether other people live or die.

British Writer

John Bates Clark

The decree of a coercive tribunal would not need to conform to the true standard of wages, the final productivity of social labor. It would introduce into distribution a genuinely arbitrary element, with a very large ultimate power to pervert the natural system.

American Economist

Virginia Postrel

Persuasion has become a kind of force. The more the advertiser knows about what consumers want, and the more desires the product and packaging seek to fulfill, the more coercive the force.

American Writer

Jane Mayer

Ethically, I think pretty much every code of ethics for doctors suggests that they should not be in an interrogation room, particularly if there's anything coercive or abusive going on.

American Journalist

Wesley Clark

In my experience, in bringing coercive diplomacy to bear against Slobodan Milosevic, no bomb strike was more important than maintaining NATO's cohesion.

American General

P. Chidambaram

Pakistan is not a rogue state, but it harbours and covertly supports rogue elements. While war is not the answer, hard or coercive diplomacy could be.

Indian Politician

Henry Hazlitt

The 'private sector' of the economy is, in fact, the voluntary sector; and the 'public sector' is, in fact, the coercive sector.

American Philosopher

Jeff Berwick

By its nature, governments and taxes are not voluntary. Government actions are violent and coercive, and theft as well.

Canadian Businessman

William Weld

I think coercive taxation is theft, and government has a moral duty to keep it to a minimum.

American Politician

Bernadine Dohrn

I felt grand juries were illegal and coercive.

American Educator

The word 'coercive' implies negativity and resistance. It suggests an action is not welcomed.

Negative Emotion

'Coercive' often points to a power imbalance where one party can force the other into compliance.

Power Imbalance

'Coercive' doesn't always mean physical force; it can also refer to psychological pressure.

Not Physical

'Coercive' in legal terms implies actions may be against the rules or law.

Legality Issue

'Coercive' implies there's a threat or consequence for not complying, not just persuasion.

Threat Underlying

Perception of what is 'coercive' can vary by culture; some actions might be seen as normal in one culture but coercive in another.

Cultural Perception

 Other methods may be more intense using techniques of coercive persuasion involving guilt, shame, and fear. And in many cases, members may willingly submit out of desire to belong and to attain the promised rewards. The cult environment discourages critical thinking,

Why do people join...

 this highly coercive manner increased the risk of a suspect making a false confession another common tactic used in coercive interrogations is a sustained attack on a suspects memory

Interrogation or Child...

 and to remember why this has become such a contentious issue. It's because some family planning programs resorted to unfortunate incentives and coercive policies.