Won't they be surprised when it is the things they are and have that are suddenly free for their political masters to take?
People who'd behave like in my scenario above, would not be surprised, in my view, since they already would have known upfront that what they got for free, came nevertheless with a price tag. After all, only a truly mentally deranged person walks around and expects no costs, since such mind cannot distinguish between the subjects.
However, as children already learn and know that people receive and expect something in return from each other, adults would have already given their consent to such lifestyle, which is also called ‘anticipatory obedience’. In the expectation that they themselves are in the weaker position anyway and cannot do anything against overpowering forces. To avoid admitting this bitter truth, you have to pretend that it is a rosy world and that the drugs, the artificial lightness of existence, conceal the darkness it contains.
I knew there was a reason I never wore rose-colored glasses.