That seemed like the whole point of the essay to me and not a side note. His claim is that rule-orientation and assertiveness are present already in childhood (which I think is true), and that those are what determine people's behavior toward rules, not the specifics of the rules themselves.
> and that those are what determine people's behavior toward rules, not the specifics of the rules themselves.
Maybe abstract, theoretical sense. But adults already hold pretty concrete opinions on most rules and an aggressive person's obedience or defiance is dictated by the person's agreement. Also, humans can be opportunists and see enforcement or defiance as a means of grabbing or welding power & influence.
There's ample evidence of this in action. The police selectively enforce laws all the time. Or the neighbor that calls the city to complain that you're violating zoning by having too many cars while they, themselves have an illegal fence and refuse to deal with it. Authoritarians by nature do not like it when the rules apply to them, but love enforcing them on others.
This gets left out of so many conversations, and is a very important point.
The essay touches on it a little with the slavery bit, but I feel like the rest of the essay downplays it.