Most people like to believe they make their own choices. They don't.In this commentary, I dismantle the fantasy of "free will" in marketing and expose how algorithms, scarcity cues, psychological priming, and social mimicry quietly govern human behavior. This is the architecture behind modern persuasion.Nietzsche hinted at this long before the digital age when he said, "There is no doer behind the deed." Foucault expanded it: power works best when people willingly obey structures they don't see. Dan Ariely proved it experimentally: humans are predictably irrational.Today, those structures are engineered by marketers.This analysis breaks down how platforms, brands, and creators weaponize perception, and why consumers walk straight into the frame without resistance. It also connects these mechanisms to my broader work on The Machiavellian Marketing Framework™ (MMF), a model built on control, perception, scarcity, and inevitability.If you're serious about understanding psychological influence, algorithmic persuasion, and the machinery shaping modern attention, this commentary is the missing piece.Referenced Papers (DOIs):The Machiavellian Marketing Framework™ (MMF): A Paradigm for Control, Perception, and Psychological Strategy in the Algorithmic EraDOI: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.30392836The Myth of Free Will in Marketing: Why Consumers Obey Invisible ArchitecturesDOI: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.30687431This isn't about manipulation for its own sake. It's about recognizing the battlefield you're already on.If you prefer comforting illusions, skip this video. If you want to see how influence actually works, press play.Read The 23 Laws of Marketing: https://www.amazon.com/Laws-Marketing-Strategic-Domination-Psychological-ebook/dp/B0FQ1W8763Visit Hadrian Stone's Website: https://hadrianstone.super.siteFollow Hadrian Stone on X: https://x.com/hadrianstonemmf?s=21