When analyzing power vs. freedom,  people's belief system matter the most, while the monetary system comes in at second place.

We can call the belief system layer zero, and the monetary system layer one.

All the other layers of society; education, consumption, politics, infrastructure, security, trade, laws, taxes, and so forth, build on top of the belief system and the monetary system.

If you don't analyze the two foundational layers thoroughly, you will understand very, very little of what goes on in the other layers, especially when it comes to how power vs freedom is affected.