Literary notes about Coercive (AI summary)
In literature, "coercive" is employed to evoke the imposition of force or control, whether manifest in social institutions, interpersonal relationships, or even the natural order. Writers use it to describe measures that compel behavior—be they the stern methods of religious or governmental authority [1, 2, 3] or the more insidious pressures embedded in personal dynamics, where even a gentle touch can be read as dominating [4, 5]. The term also surfaces in discussions of philosophical and political theory, where coercive power is debated as both an inevitable aspect of societal organization and an undesirable interference in human freedom [6, 7]. Across these varying contexts, "coercive" consistently underscores the tension between order imposed by external constraints and the desire for autonomous self-determination [8, 9, 10].
- 'There is something in the very spirit of the Christian Church which revolts from the application of coercive force
— from Lux Mundi: A Series of Studies in the Religion of the Incarnation, 10th Edition, 1890 - All government then is coercive; we happen to have created a government which is not only coercive; but collective.
— from What's Wrong with the World by G. K. Chesterton - If that coercive power were entirely taken away, they would probably soon break out into open violence and bloodshed.
— from An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith - I departed sadly, wondering whether my invitation had been too coercive or whether Master's unseen influence were at work.
— from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda - Better that, than to feel Martin-Roget's coercive grip on her arm, or to hear her father's curt words of command.
— from Lord Tony's Wife: An Adventure of the Scarlet Pimpernel by Orczy, Emmuska Orczy, Baroness - A coercive power is necessary to guarantee this long-desired security within the community.
— from Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Essay by Immanuel Kant - But arising from whatever reason the act of government is coercive and is burdened with all the coarse and painful qualities of coercion.
— from What's Wrong with the World by G. K. Chesterton - Surely, the coercive enforcement of a new creed is more odious than the rigorous maintenance of the time-honored faith of a nation.
— from The Faith of Our Fathers by James Gibbons - Courageous, unconcerned, scornful, coercive—so wisdom wisheth us; she is a woman, and ever loveth only a warrior.
— from Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and None by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche - This of itself was a severe blow to the embargo, which for coercive success depended upon the co-operation of the Continental system.
— from Sea Power in its Relations to the War of 1812Volume 1 by A. T. (Alfred Thayer) Mahan
