Seriously, dude looks a lot like him.

Been a while since I've seen this episode, but the sum of it was needs of the many.

IIRC he and his companions were squatters, hiding out on the moon since before DS9/Terok Nor was built. No real right to be there they just setup camp one day and stayed. There is an implication he's clinging to the memories and trauma of the occupation in very unhealthy ways and not moving on, though the episode doesn't do a great job imo of addressing that.

Meanwhile, Bajor is in tatters post occupation (think Europe Jun-Dec 1945) and desperately trying to rebuild and get some sense of normalcy for the citizens, cities are dealing with food and resource insecurities and what natural resources the planet did have are heavily depleted due to the occupation.

Kira is sent by the government to evacuate everyone on the moon, because the moon is tectonic active, meaning with a simple boring process they can capture a lot of energy which can be pushed through replicators to produce food and building material for citizens displaced on Bajor. The number given in the series is hundreds of thousands, though realistically if used even somewhat efficiently millions of Bajorans could gain some quality of life up to what most people would consider livable rather than simply sustenance driven.

The drilling process would make the area uninhabitable and potentially overflowing with lava, and the government is getting tired of waiting. This guy and his commune were refusing to move, even though it would ultimately mean death to stay. Hence his stance of 'if I leave, I die.' implying he just doesn't care and clinging to trauma from the occupation rather than getting help and salvaging what was left of his life.

TL;DR PTSD survivor refusing assistance and treatment, and actively preventing others from getting help for their own problems, given some serious tough love to force them onto the path of recovery and denying his death wish.

The comments made me look up the actor who played the sweet old man. In case we're equally uneducated: Brian Keith was an acting legend whose life tragically ended not long after that episode. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Keith

RIP Brian

As an evil authoritarian tankie, this episode made perfect sense to me 😉

The old man had a knee-jerk opposition and lack of trust to any form of government or authority, understandably developed from living under the fascist occupation, but now extended to the fledgeling revolutionary government, which could not survive without cooperation and buy-in from the people. It was necessary for the Bejorans to adapt from the role of rebels to other roles. We see in other episodes Bejorans who can't or won't do this (the Maquis).

The whole point of overthrowing the Cardassians was not "blowing things up is fun and cool" nor was it "all governments are bad and individualism is good." That specific government was bad, and the point was to set up a new government that could work for the benefit of the Bejoran people, and protect their safety and interests. Kira threads the needle between freedom fighter and civil servant, burning down the old order and building up the new one with equal resolve and determination.

By living with the old man, Kira showed that she understood him, that she felt similar things to him, that she wasn't just a pencil pusher who didn't care whose lives got ruined in the name of profits and efficiency and understood the weight of what she was telling him. But she also showed that, even from that perspective, she was still determined to get the reactor built. Ultimately, the decision she makes is forceful, authoritarian, even. But she also demonstrates by example how someone who is like the old man could arrive at her position. She is not only forcing him, but also leading by example, showing him that if she can switch gears to the changing conditions, he can too.

That willingness to build up after, to cooperate and ensure that a new peace can last, that is what separates the revolutionary from the rebel (the Maquis), or the individualist (the old man).