Abstract

Coercion, manipulation, and exploitation are related concepts, all of which refer to behavior that is morally problematic. It is proposed that all three be understood as not ‘‘moralized’’ (i.e., not containing immorality as part of their very meaning). _Coercion_ is understood as either having no choice or as having no acceptable choice. _Manipulation_ is the steering or influencing of the choices of others by means that might be morally problematic (though not necessarily wrong in all cases). Three forms of manipulation are distinguished: deception, pressuring, and employing emotional vulnerability or character defects. _Exploitation_ involves making use of the vulnerabilities of others for your ends. All three concepts raise issues relating to the value of freedom, conceived as independence of one’s choices from the will of others. This chapter cites capitalist wage labor and advertising as two pervasive evils of our society that can be objected to on these grounds.