He doesn't understands power relations because he ignores them. He doesn't bend, which makes him a general outsider of society, but he expect other to act in the same manner, of not bending, because he doesn't understand social ties.
There are various few occasions that you see RMS bending. Like plane travels (which require IDs), that he just does when he needs to cross oceans. So to him, a person that dd something because of a power relation with an employer is just weird.
He "doesn't bend" because he's never had to. He's been able to leverage his privilege into a lifestyle of not bending.
You know what happens to people who "won't bend" and must? They break and die. So people in dire circumstances learn to bend.
Not personally being in dire circumstance is the luck of the draw. Not considering them, or playing "I wouldn't bend" and belittling them, is a refusal to care.
