Well provoked William... I'll take the bait :)
First question is: are these "aspiration statements" or "declarations of fact"?
For me, those pesky details resolve to specific words that have specific meanings and operate in specific legal context which mix together with other specific legal context that have been designed to both protect and leverage their own structures, both for and against interactions with those legal contexts.
Think about the holiday season... envision the front door of that aesthetically pleasing shopping experience known as WalMart... enter VRM point "Customers must be able to assert their own terms of engagement."... uh... has anyone seen video of those doors opening? Those are customers... some of them die just getting in the door. What "terms of engagement" are they going to be asserting?
Sound pessimistic? I agree. The problem is that "customers" is not an empowering construct to find yourself in... it is devoid of effort... in fact it is part of the problem...consider:
A baby is born... enter VRM point "Customers must enter relationships with vendors as independent actors."... at this point we have the government (GRM) and health care forming relationships via parents that construe the data and life of this Individual baby as anything but "independent actors"... in fact it is really the first inappropriate "customer" relationship... and its output manifests in a few disturbing ways... such as "citizens" interacting with their government as "customers" (What? - how did that happen?)... or when you get home from the hospital, within a week you will receive (in America at least) a solicitation in your child's legal name from Gerber Life Insurance (perfectly named for customer interaction)... not to mention that public benefit services like social security #'s start to become data liabilities, and the first point of identity theft due to their lack of use by babies without any independent authority, but who are stood up as data-slaves none the less.
How does the "customer" role serve any functional empowerment outcome?
Enter "Personal Sovereignty"... at its root, this idea is about NEVER being construed as a "customer"... or a dis-empowered structure in the socio-economic system that is preyed upon by default... and instead focusing on shifting the structure to one of personal control and authority.
I shop... but why would I ever do it as a "customer"... a structure devoid of meaning, data integrity or leverage... when I can function as a "market owner" with a deliberate structure that has specific meaning, intent-bearing leverage and the ability to maintain data integrity purposefully? We keep talking about "free is a lie" and "discounts are disingenuous"... but "customers" absolutely LOVE those things and have likely never even considered the points raised in this thread. There is no requirement for any advanced intelligence to be a "customer"...in fact it is the abdication of intelligence that breeds that role. That is how the market greases the wheels.
So for VRM... I again urge us to consider that the very role of "customer" is the root problem preventing any meaningful leverage from existing between Individuals and organizational structures. There is a very real structural shift when we move from that role to one where VRM enables more partnering exchanges and mutually beneficial points of leverage.
Words matter... leverage matters.
Personal Sovereignty is important because it is the manner of inaugurating an Individuals relationship with Society that defines whether we have any personal Sovereignty or are just customers of freedom. It begs the question I raise here asking "Does an administrative system hold a monopoly on the Rights of forming identities with Sovereign authority? This being prompted by one of my favorite sessions at the IIW just ended titled "Self ID" concerning our ability to function as our own identity providers (IDP).
Bottom line is that I take issue with the word "customers"... who I believe will always function as prey in the market through abdication of personal Sovereignty. Note: that doesnt mean we should allow prey to be deliberated disrespected or abused...but... it is not a deliberately empowered role that can care-take that outcome for itself.)
Devon