Voluntary agreement is impossible between parties of unequal power

Evidence

In these conflicts, between the jester Rigoletto and the Duke of Mantua and between Iago and his general, Othello, the weaker men turn on the more powerful. That we might not trust those who have power over us, especially when they have little reason to care for us individually, is no surprise. I depend heavily on your favor, while you depend not at all on mine. You can therefore do me substantial harm, while I can do you little or none. The mutual trust that depends on reciprocal relations cannot easily develop in such unequal, nonreciprocal contexts. — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 477 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Neither denunciation nor privatized acceptance can create a politics of mutual respect; Alternatives failing to address structures of domination cannot achieve abolition — Davis, Angela Y, Are Prisons Obsolete, 286; Coercive government power depends on voluntary cooperation from many (+6 more)

Related

• Cooperation fails if no one can knowingly occupy a dependent party (similarity 0.86)
• Mutual trust cannot develop in unequal, nonreciprocal power relations (similarity 0.85)
• Power inequalities block trust because the strong lack encapsulated interest (similarity 0.84)
• No consistent analytical case exists for trust beyond encapsulated interest (similarity 0.81)
• Loss of positional power can void the sanction backing a trust relationship (similarity 0.80)
• Great power inequalities undercut the possibility of voluntary uncoerced agreement. (similarity 0.79)
• Trust only arises where opportunistic behavior is genuinely possible (similarity 0.79)
• Power arises only at the moment positive rewards are threatened with withdrawal (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Mutual trust cannot develop in unequal, nonreciprocal power relations #expands (0.85) — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 477
• Neither denunciation nor privatized acceptance can create a politics of mutual respect #expands (0.82)
• Alternatives failing to address structures of domination cannot achieve abolition #corroborates (0.75) — Davis, Angela Y, Are Prisons Obsolete, 286
• Coercive government power depends on voluntary cooperation from many #contradicts (0.75)
• Informal human-relation influence cannot substitute for technicalized formal power. #corroborates (0.72)