The difference between coercion and persuasion goes to the heart of human liberty and the Anglo-Saxon legal tradition starting with the Magna Carta. Coercion, on the one hand, is the method of despotism of all stripes since time immemorial. The powerful get things done by putting the screws to you.
When we talk about the difference between coercion and persuasion, we need to also discuss the concept of free speech. It is impossible to have a society based on persuasion without free speech. This only leaves coercion as the means for accomplishing political and social ends.
We (as a society) have to be committed to defending free speech however impolitic, or unpopular, or even wrong because defending that is the only barrier to violence. That’s because the only way we can influence one another short of physical violence is thru speech, thru communicating ideas. The moment you say certain ideas can’t be communicated you create a circumstance where people have no alternative but to go hands on you.
Sam Harris, Making Sense with Sam Harris, #67 – Meaning and Chaos
It’s not a mistake that societies that value persuasion over coercion are, in the main, not just more free in general, but also more prosperous in general. When we consider the countries of the world with the highest standard of living (places like Denmark, Switzerland and Finland) are far more on the side of persuasion than they are coercion.
By contrast, the countries with the lowest standard of living (Niger, Central African Republic, South Sudan) are hardly known for their culture of open discussion, debate, and persuasion.
This relationship works both ways: The three freest nations for the press according to Reporters Without Borders (Norway, Finland, and Sweden) are also prosperous nations, while the three least free nations (Eritrea, North Korea, and Turkmenistan) are also impoverished nations.
Which causes the other cannot be definitively said, but there is a clear relationship between persuasion societies and prosperity — and vice versa.
Read more Coercion vs. Persuasion: What Is the Difference Between Coercion and Persuasion? at Spread Great Ideas: https://spreadgreatideas.org/contrasts/coercion-vs-persuasion/
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