  The ethics of coercion, when this is understood to be a morally neutral means to the coercer's purposes, have been little explored in the contemporary literature, at least as a distinct subject. It is of course true that many ways of coercing someone are dangerous, damaging, and (when used by private parties) unlawful. But the fact that coercion is a necessary tool, even for just governments in well-ordered societies, gives some reason to suppose that the ethics of coercion depend principally on a set of discrete factors in its use, rather than on its intrinsic qualities. These factors include why and how it is used, who uses it, against whom, in what circumstances, and what other means were possible instead. Coercion is no ordinary means. But it's unclear why we should say that it is intrinsically (even prima facie or pro tanto) immoral, instead of simply noting that it is a very potent means, prone to abuse, and something that deserves ethical scrutiny whenever it is used.