Question

What are coercive offers?

Philosophy question

Answer 1

The concept of coercion has two different faces, corresponding to the two parties involved in its most ordinary cases. On one face, it picks out a technique agents (coercers) can use to get other agents to do or not do something. On the other face, it picks out a kind of reason for why agents (coercees) sometimes do or refrain from doing something.

A disputed question in the philosophy of liberty is the existence of coercive offers. ‘A coercive offer’ means ‘an offer which the offerer compels the offeree to accept’, and consequently ‘an offer which the offeree cannot refuse’. The connection between coercion and liberty is revealed by Bentham’s words: ‘ “liberty” is to be defined “the absence of coercion”.’ Bentham explains that ‘coerces’ means either ‘constrains’ ( ‘compels’) or ‘restrains’. But in fact it is not necessary to use both ‘constrain’ and ‘restrain’. For, if A locks B in a room, one can say either that A constrains B to stay in that room, or that A restrains B from leaving it.

Coercive offers, according to some writers, are those that force a specific choice from the victim while actually enhancing their freedom. Some argue, however, that genuine coercion requires the active and deliberate creation of vulnerability, and not mere opportunistic exploitation of vulnerability discovered fortuitously.

Threats and coercion occur in conflict situations. Sometimes mere force and violence are applied. But people also make offers in order to exercise their power. Coercion is characterized as such rational social interaction and exercise of power that the weaker party is threatened by the stronger party.