You don’t need tanks to take a country. You need the levers (the infrastructure): money, land, movement, speech, labor, food, schools. Capture those—gradually—and the symbols can stay while sovereignty (bait and switch) drains away. In that slow exchange, good—liberty ordered by morals that yields freedom—gets swapped for what only looks good: the soft tyranny of dependence, the anesthetic of convenience and pleasure, and the counterfeit ‘license’ that matures into bondage.
How to Observe Power (Adler, translated from “reading” to watching)
Level 1 — Literal (What’s happening?)
Note the visible act: a new rule, fee, mandate, “pilot,” ESG screen, emergency order, data-sharing MOU, or “temporary” power. Who signed it? What changed yesterday vs. today?
Level 2 — Interpretive (What does it mean?)
Ask what incentives and dependencies it creates. Who must ask permission now? Who gains leverage (funders, agencies, boards, platforms)? What becomes easier/harder for ordinary citizens?
Level 3 — Analytical/Structural (How does it work?)
Trace the mechanism: statute → regulation → guidance → procurement → enforcement. Which choke point is engaged (money, land, movement, speech, labor, food, schools)? What’s the off-ledger glue (NGOs, foundations, “public-private partnerships”)?
Level 4 — Syntopical/Systemic (Where does it rhyme?)
Compare across time and domains. Have we seen this tactic in other sectors or crises? Which “temporary” powers stuck last time? How does this move the Overton window toward centralization?
Use it live: Spot → Interpret → Map the mechanism → Compare.
Rule of thumb: If it creates dependency to access basics (work, travel, transact, speak, learn, eat, own), it’s a choke point—no matter the branding.
Below are ten classic choke points (adapted from the Communist Manifesto’s “measures,” but relevant to any centralized takeover), plus a few modern add-ons.
For each:
- What it looks like in practice
- Why it’s a choke point
- Creep signs to watch
- Guardrails that free societies should demand
Abolish or Hollow Out Private Property (Land & Homes)
In practice: Rising property taxes/fees, eminent domain overreach, complex zoning that blocks ownership, “climate/blight” designations that enable mass transfers to developers or authorities.
Why it’s a choke point: If you can’t securely own land, you’re a renter of the state. Dependency = leverage.
Creep signs: Permanent “temporary moratoria”; rising compliance costs that force small owners to sell; public-private “land banks.”
Guardrails: Strong takings law + fair market compensation; simple, transparent zoning; property tax caps; citizen veto on mass transfers.
Heavy Progressive Income Tax (as Behavior Steering)
In practice: Ever-changing brackets/credits used to reward allies, punish disfavored sectors, or “nudge” choices.
Why it’s a choke point: Tax power can quietly shape society without a vote on each change.
Creep signs: Constant emergency surcharges; targeted penalties on dissident media/NGOs; opaque credit labyrinths only big firms can navigate.
Guardrails: Single-subject tax bills; multi-year sunset clauses; independent fiscal notes; citizen referendum on new surtaxes.
Abolish or Erode Inheritance
In practice: Estate taxes, probate traps, forced sales for “fairness,” special rules that spare the largest while crushing family farms/shops.
Why it’s a choke point: Breaks intergenerational independence, keeping families reliant on bureaucracies.
Creep signs: “Wealth register” proposals; limits on family business succession; new fees masked as consumer protection.
Guardrails: High exemptions for modest estates; streamlined probate; clear family succession protections.
Confiscate Property of “Rebels” or Emigrants
In practice: Asset freezes, de-banking, civil forfeiture, sanctions lists with weak due process; emigration hurdles (Digital ID with ESG controls parallel to China).
Why it’s a choke point: Fear of losing livelihood silences dissent; exit is blocked.
Creep signs: Banks as speech police; expanding “terror/extremist” labels to critics; travel document delays for opponents.
Guardrails: Due-process warrants for freezes; fast appeals; clear, narrow statutory definitions; right to counsel and damages for wrongful seizure.
Central Bank as Single Spine of Credit
In practice: A few regulators + central bank steer rates, liquidity, and access; crisis facilities pick winners; potential CBDC rails.
Why it’s a choke point: Whoever allocates credit can reward compliance and starve dissent.
Creep signs: “Temporary” crisis windows becoming permanent; direct retail IDs/wallets without legal limits; rulemaking by guidance.
Guardrails: Transparency on facilities; ban on retail surveillance money; statutory purpose limits; audits; community banking protections.
Centralize Communications & Transportation
In practice: Permits and licenses concentrated; “safety” rules morph into content control; chokepoints at ports, rails, airspace.
Why it’s a choke point: Control the pipes and you steer who can speak, move, or deliver.
Creep signs: Platform rules aligned with state “mis/disinfo” lists; geofenced blackouts; politicized licensing.
Guardrails: Common-carrier style neutrality; due-process takedown rules; multiple competing carriers; judicial review for blackouts.
State Ownership/Direction of Production (Factories/Agriculture)
In practice: Not always outright nationalization—often regulatory capture + subsidy webs that make firms de facto arms of the state.
Why it’s a choke point: Production becomes permissioned; innovators need political favor.
Creep signs: “Emergency” industrial policies without sunsets; compliance scorecards tied to loans and permits.
Guardrails: Sunset all “temporary” controls; publish beneficiary lists; antitrust against crony clusters; equal-access procurement.
Government Control of Labor
In practice: Mandates and certifications that inflate barriers to work; national tasking under emergencies; blacklists via background/shared data.
Why it’s a choke point: Work becomes a license revocable for noncompliance.
Creep signs: Expanding “good standing” databases to gate jobs; emergency labor mobilizations that never end.
Guardrails: Right-to-work basics; narrow, appealable licensing; strict limits on emergency powers; protect independent contracting.
Corporate Farms & Central Planning of Land Use
In practice: Consolidation via regulation and finance; seed/chem/IP control; regional planning that sidelines smallholders.
Why it’s a choke point: Food is non-optional. Gate food and you gate freedom.
Creep signs: Rules that only mega-operators can meet; zoning that bans local processing; seed/animal restrictions knocking out homesteads.
Guardrails: Right-to-farm statutes; local slaughter/processing allowances; anti-trust in ag supply chains; seed-saving protections.
Government Control of Education
In practice: Central standards, credential monopolies, data profiling; grant strings that dictate content.
Why it’s a choke point: Shape the next generation’s mind, and you set the culture’s default.
Creep signs: One-size curricula with punitive funding; viewpoint blacklists; credential cartels blocking alternatives.
Guardrails: Plural models (public/charter/private/home); curriculum transparency; portability of funds to families; viewpoint diversity protections.
Modern Add-Ons (today’s stealth levers)
Digital ID + Programmable Payments
Why: If your ability to login, work, travel, or pay depends on an ID/app, policy becomes code.
Creep signs: “Voluntary” IDs required everywhere; black-box risk scores; account freezes without court orders.
Guardrails: Opt-in; cash parity; human appeals; no single identifier; warrant-only data sharing; hard sunsets.
Platform Speech Governance
Why: Private rules can silence more efficiently than censors.
Creep signs: State-to-platform “requests” that act like orders; algorithmic down-ranking of lawful dissent.
Guardrails: Transparent moderation logs; judicially reviewable takedowns; protect lawful speech; competing platforms.
Emergency Powers That Never End
Why: “Temporary” becomes the new normal.
Creep signs: Rolling emergencies; agencies governing by guidance; legislative oversight sidelined.
Guardrails: Strict time limits; legislative re-approval; full audits; personal damages for abuses.
Permits/Inspections as Leverage
Why: If every activity needs permission, any activity can be stopped.
Creep signs: Selective enforcement; sudden code blitzes on dissidents.
Guardrails: Clear, objective standards; fast, independent appeals; rotating inspectors; sunshine dashboards.
How the Creep Works (the playbook)
- Rename (soft words for hard control).
- Pilot (small, temporary program).
- Normalize (make it default).
- Expand (attach funding strings).
- Punish (target holdouts).
- Codify (“for your safety”).
A 10-Minute Civic Audit (use this locally)
- Show the contract: Ports, utilities, transit, schools—who really controls terms?
- Find the sunset: When do “temporary” powers end?
- Check the court: Where are disputes decided—local court or foreign arbitration?
- Follow the money: Who profits from the rules?
- Test the off-switch: Can you live, work, speak, travel, and pay without a special app?
Bottom line
These choke points aren’t “left” or “right”—they’re leverage. Any faction can use them. The fix isn’t a different jersey; it’s hard limits, real transparency, competing options, local consent, and due process. If we guard the levers, the flag will mean something again.
