[1] TCS was conceived between 1988 and 1989 by Sarah Fitz-Claridge,[2] and later grew into an online mailing-list around 1992.
[3] TCS begins with the observation that most traditional interactions between adults and youth are based on coercion.
TCS defines coercion as: "double-binding – putting others in no-win situations – using your ingenuity to actively prevent problems being solved.
"[4] TCS advocates that parents and children act creatively to find solutions without force or compromise.
[5][6] The TCS philosophy is informed by the epistemology of Karl Popper and David Deutsch, a theoretical physicist at Oxford University.