If providing value to your enemies is the only way to survive you are a slave.
The government can't keep a single bird from crossing a border, so they feign disinterest in the task. If they could they would. They can't. Building things outside their control is the only way to wealth. Understand, they're taming a great beast and they're resource constrained.
Every moment of your life you risk death. Making the world more the way you want it always starts with the individual.