Etienne de la Boetie

May I quote an extract from a pamphlet put together in either 1552 or 1553 by Etienne de la Boetie. The pamphlet was called The Politics of Obedience, The discourse of voluntary servitude and was not about the Machiavellian Prince but the overthrow of the Prince and to secure the liberty of the individual. The question is 'why in the world do people consent to their own enslavement' and here is a quote which I think encapsulates where some of us are today, albeit four and a half centuries later:-

Where has he acquired enough eyes to spy
upon you, if you do not provide them yourselves? How can
he have so many arms to beat you with, if he does not borrow
them from you? The feet that trample down your cities,
where does he get them if they are not your own? How
does he have any power over you except through you?
How would he dare assail you if he had no cooperation
from you?

Exactly how much have we learnt since the middle of the 16th century. Not a lot if we are to count the number of CCTV cameras.