He gave examples of independent and self-reliant (learn and make better informed choices). It means you do not rely on anyone's favor or permission. A child or a slave are not independent and self-reliant. Having to pay for Internet access is not the same as being a slave or a child.
vladkornea t1_j13tw5q wrote
Reply to comment by ads7w6 in Do no conform: Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay Self-Reliance argues that we should strive for greatness and self-reliance rather than the "meanness" of conforming to the society's dead institutions saying that "Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind" by thelivingphilosophy
He gave examples of independent and self-reliant (learn and make better informed choices). It means you do not rely on anyone's favor or permission. A child or a slave are not independent and self-reliant. Having to pay for Internet access is not the same as being a slave or a child.