The thing is, I don't know totally what it means. I think one part of it is people are genuinely afraid of their government.
Another part to that is that they fear if they did cast it off, what would come about would be worse and life would become ruthless. To some degree, government keeps order. As long as you keep your mouth shut, you get to reap the benefits of a relatively peaceful life -- at the expense of some of your freedoms.
The thing is, I don't know when that line will be crossed to make the transition from "I'm ok with this trade" to "Ok, let's give this a shot." I'm not sure what it would take, given people's needs as so satiated. Maybe going hungry, like @dsdmmat said in another thread, but who knows.
All I know is, when that transition is made, the world is upside down. Life is upside down and brutal -- and you have to be stronger then life, so long as you're breathing, if you want to keep it from consuming you.