A lightly governed colony remains unfree if rulers hold arbitrary power.

Evidence

Likewise, what matters with respect to political freedom on the republican view is not how much the imperial power chooses to govern its colony, but the fact that the former may choose to govern the latter as much and however it likes. Thus Joseph Priestley described the lightly-governed American colonies as nevertheless in a condition of servitude because “by the same power, by which the people of England can compel them to pay one penny, they may compel them to pay the last penny they have” (1769 [1993, 140]). — Frank Lovett, Republicanism, 20

Categorization

• CANDY: Priestley’s ‘one penny to the last penny’ formulation is a compact, quote-worthy illustration of the domination idea.
• corroborated: 5 independent passages support this claim — Frank Lovett, Republicanism, 20
• XREF: connects to: Unfreedom lies in the structural power to dominate, not in actual interference. — Frank Lovett, Republicanism, 16; Sovereign power makes principles rather than obeying them; Institutions can deliberately cultivate servility as a form of unfreedom (+3 more)

Related

• Republican freedom means absence of dependence on arbitrary power, not non-interference. (similarity 0.84)
• Exposure to another’s arbitrary capacity, not its use, constitutes loss of freedom (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Unfreedom lies in the structural power to dominate, not in actual interference. #expands (0.85) — Frank Lovett, Republicanism, 16
• Mystified arbitrary power becomes immune to legal restraint #expands (0.85) — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 628
• Sovereign power makes principles rather than obeying them #expands (0.80)
• A ruling party exercises hegemonic power without formal juridical rule #expands (0.80)
• Institutions can deliberately cultivate servility as a form of unfreedom #corroborates (0.75)
• Domination without leadership constitutes dictatorship without hegemony #expands (0.75)