Within a relationship of subordination, the exclusion of all spontaneity whatever is actually rarer than is suggested by such widely used popular expressions as “coercion,” “having no choice,” “absolute necessity,” etc. … It exists even in those cases of superordination and subordination—and therefore makes even those cases societal forms—where according to popular notions the “coercion” by one party deprives the other of every spontaneity, and thus of every real “effect,” or contribution to the process of interaction.

XREF: Challenges common notions of coercion and power asymmetry; connects to sociological interaction theory around Simmel's formal sociology.

DEFINE: Simmel clarifies that 'coercion' and 'having no choice' are popular oversimplifications; true exclusion of all spontaneity is rarer than commonly assumed.

Georg Simmel, on individuality and social…, loc. 323