Quote from: sub rosa on Aug 23, 2026, 10:39 AMAutonomous loyalty is all that's needed for the un-owned "thing" to not be abused by the masses. 

QuoteLike a lot of men in his generation he had been a product of divorce and raised by a single mom. A combination of a lack of male influence and fear of instability had left him emotionally stunted, pliable and a bit of a people pleaser.

https://www.literotica.com/s/the-high-price-of-freedom

QuoteIn developed countries collectivism and individual liberty are generally treated as rivals: the more responsibility government assumes, the less room remains for citizens to fend for themselves. Sweden followed a different path. During the 20th century the state expanded not merely to soften inequality or insure people against hardship, but to reduce their reliance on other people—including their own families. A large impersonal state is seen as bolstering autonomy: when in need, Swedes feel it is better to be beholden to an impersonal bureaucracy than to a parent or some charity. Seen this way, a bigger state translates into more freedom, not less.

The upshot is what Henrik Berggren and Lars Tragardh, two historians, call "statist individualism". In their book "The Swedish Theory of Love", newly updated in English, they argue that Swedes have come to prize relationships entered into freely rather than maintained by material necessity. Public child care helps women avoid financial dependence on husbands, state old-age homes liberate children from obligations to ageing parents, and so on. (Even marriage is a bit suspect: in France or Germany households are the basic unit of taxation, but in Sweden all adults file independently.) American parents sending their offspring to college must submit proof of their incomes for the youngsters to qualify for scholarships. In contrast, young Swedes are assumed to be on their own: the income of their parents is irrelevant. Their independence is a gift of the state, expensive as it is to sustain.

https://archive.ph/sl8io