"because the choices presented are "comply or be destitute"
I think that is a widely felt perception, born of a sense of despair and ennui. It is also widely advertised that one of the more effective countermeasures to the despair and then acquiring an ability to perceive, or even create, new choices is to begin adopting an attitude of gratefulness. And I think there is truth in that advertising :-)
There are other methods of overcoming ennui, but gratefulness is perhaps the gentlest and easiest on your neighbors. Absolutely everyone can find something to be grateful about. And that is where it begins.