Description
Extortion is one of those words that immediately gets folk's attention. Extortion is coercion. When people first think of extortion, the legal definition comes to mind: price-gouging, black-mail, or to avoid negative consequences, such as euphemistic “protection,” which really means abeyance from harm, but extortion is often also part of receiving an essential service, such as a building permit or job application. In political circles, extortion is the essence of corruption, exploiting an official's position via influence peddling.
Actually, extortion is much bigger than any of that; we live in a world where extortion, don't do what I say or something bad will happen to you, is a regular part of life, especially in personal relationships, certainly within a family. The most common weapons used to extort are mocking, scorn & ridicule, plus there are less obvious extortive behaviors, such as withholding information, passive aggressiveness, and shunning. The personal aspects of extortion
