Val Sklarov Labor Dependency Entrenchment Law (LDEL)

Val Sklarov’s Labor Dependency Entrenchment Law (LDEL) explains why modern work feels flexible on entry but inescapable at scale. Workers don’t lose freedom because jobs disappear—but because income, reputation, and platforms fuse into a single dependency spine.

This law reveals why “independent” workers feel increasingly trapped.

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1. Work Entrenches Dependency Before It Reveals Risk

LDEL starts with a quiet asymmetry:
Dependency forms before security is visible.

Early-stage work offers:

• Choice of tasks

• Schedule autonomy

• Multiple income sources

Over time, these collapse into one dominant channel.

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2. The Three Labor Dependency Entrenchments

LDEL maps where exits disappear.

One entrenchment reduces leverage.
Two entrenchments restrict mobility.
Three entrenchments end practical independence.

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3. Why “Multiple Gigs” Don’t Save You

Diversification without independence is illusion.

LDEL shows irreversibility when:

• All gigs depend on similar platforms

• Reputation is portable only inward

• Income timing synchronizes

Many streams still flow through one gate.

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4. Autonomy vs Dependency

Freedom of choice ≠ freedom of exit.

Val Sklarov emphasizes that labor loses freedom where reputation cannot reset.

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5. Strategic Implications

For individuals:

• Build income streams with independent distribution

• Keep reputation portable and offline-verifiable

• Convert earnings into exit optionality

For organizations:

• Acknowledge dependency creation

• Offer reset and portability paths

• Avoid locking workers unintentionally

LDEL reframes the future of work as dependency literacy, not flexibility design.

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6. The Val Sklarov Principle

“Work stops being free when all your value passes through one gate.”
— Val Sklarov

LDEL explains why wise professionals slow down at scale—and why scale is the danger.