I love putting my dystopian hat on, because I think it offers a convenient and critical lens to look at daily life through...

I'd say the coin is a little more subtle than overt control, too. It's breeding passivity through comfort and entertainment, through the facade of individual power.

Same thing they talked about in the Federalist Papers. Give some poor people a bit of land and they're no longer part of the poor class. Do that, the wealth in control gets a buffer from the masses. You create a class that will fight for you, because it means they get to keep their acre.

Same thing we see now. A passively entertained populace has no reason to revolt. So just keep giving them small luxuries and distractions.

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_and_circuses#Ancient_Rom...