Perry's Pen

An Allegory of Conquest, Mandates, and the Loss of Worker Sovereignty

1. An Allegory of Conquest, Mandates, and the Loss of Worker Sovereignty
   1. I. Introduction: The Discovery of the Digital Frontier
   2. II. The Historical Mirror: The Requerimiento and the Mandate
   3. III. The Tools of Conquest: Surveillance and Dogma
   4. IV. Cultural Erasure: The Destruction of the Domestic Sphere
   5. V. Lasting Damage: The Extraction of “Time Wealth”
   6. VI. Nuance and Counterpoints: Acknowledging the Gap
   7. VII. Conclusion: What is at Stake?

I. Introduction: The Discovery of the Digital Frontier

In 2020, a global cataclysm forced a “Great Migration.” Millions of workers were pushed out of the centralized “cities” of corporate offices and into the “frontier” of their own homes. For three years, a new culture flourished. This was a period of accidental sovereignty: workers reclaimed their time, integrated their professional lives with their families, and developed unique “customs” of asynchronous communication and output-based labor.

However, as the crisis subsided, a “Corporate Reconquista” began. Like the monarchies of old looking across the ocean at a territory they no longer strictly controlled, modern leadership viewed this autonomy not as progress, but as a loss of empire.

II. The Historical Mirror: The Requerimiento and the Mandate

When Spanish conquerors arrived in the Americas, they utilized a legalistic decree called the Requerimiento. It was read to indigenous populations—often in a language they did not understand—demanding their immediate submission to the Church and the Crown. Failure to comply meant “just war” and displacement.

Today’s Back-to-Work Mandates serve as the modern Requerimiento. They are often delivered as top-down edicts with little room for dialogue or local context. The language is bureaucratic rather than religious, yet the ultimatum is identical: Submit to the geography of the center, or forfeit your place in the economy.

III. The Tools of Conquest: Surveillance and Dogma

The conquest of the Americas was not achieved by swords alone, but by the imposition of a foreign worldview that redefined the “proper” way to live and work.

• Imposed Values (The Dogma of “Presence”): Just as the Crusaders viewed indigenous spiritualities as “pagan,” corporate leadership often dismisses WFH culture as “lazy,” despite evidence of high productivity. The “Office” has been elevated to a cathedral—a place where one must be physically present to be considered “faithful” to the company mission.
• The Colonial Gaze (Surveillance): In the colonial era, the encomienda system ensured labor was constantly monitored to maximize output for the Crown. In the modern office, this is mirrored by “productivity theater”—badge tracking, keystroke logging, and the requirement of physical “presence” as a proxy for actual value.

IV. Cultural Erasure: The Destruction of the Domestic Sphere

Conquest requires the erasure of local customs to ensure the dominance of the conqueror’s culture.

• Erasure of Individuality: WFH allowed for a “de-masking.” Workers could be parents, caregivers, and community members simultaneously. RTO demands the “death” of this integrated self. The worker must once again put on the “armor” of the professional, leaving their true customs and family rituals at the door.
• The Loss of Language: The “language” of remote work—built on flexibility, trust, and digital documentation—is being forcibly replaced by the “language” of the office: the performative meeting, the “watercooler chat,” and the hierarchy of physical proximity.

V. Lasting Damage: The Extraction of “Time Wealth”

The ultimate goal of the Spanish conquest was the extraction of resources to enrich the center. In this analogy, the resource being extracted is Time Wealth.

Forcing a worker back into a two-hour commute is a form of “tribute” paid to the corporate system. This is time stolen from the worker’s children, their health, and their local community. Over decades, this extraction creates a “generational poverty” of spirit—a workforce that is perpetually exhausted, financially drained by the costs of office life, and stripped of the agency to define their own existence.

VI. Nuance and Counterpoints: Acknowledging the Gap

It is vital to acknowledge that the “conquest” of the modern worker does not involve the physical genocide or literal chains of the 16th century. Equating the two directly would trivialize the profound historical suffering of indigenous peoples.

However, the systemic logic is a direct descendant. Both systems operate on the belief that the “subject” (the worker or the indigenous person) cannot be trusted to govern themselves and that their primary value lies in their utility to a distant, centralized authority.

VII. Conclusion: What is at Stake?

The “Return to Office” is more than a logistical debate; it is a struggle over the humanity of the laborer. Are workers autonomous beings capable of self-governance, or are they subjects of a corporate empire that requires their physical presence as a sign of submission?

By viewing RTO through the lens of conquest, we see it for what it truly is: an attempt to close the digital frontier and bring the “colonized” workforce back under the totalizing gaze of the center. The resistance to these mandates is not a “lack of work ethic”—it is a struggle for the right to remain the sovereign of one’s own life.