I once heard from Rav Yaakov Hillel shlit”a that what used to be called “koach d’hetera adif” has now become “koach d’hefkera adif.”
After discussing this comment with others who were present at the shiur, I think the pshat is as follows:
There are 3 categories:
כח דהיתירה I am confident in this leniency since I know there is no contradiction to it anywhere, and I can resolve anything which seems to be contradictory
חומרה- I don’t know if there is a contradiction elsewhere, and based on my lack of knowledge I have no choice but to be stringent
הפקרה- I am deciding to be lenient and I don’t know- nor do I really care- if there is a contradiction anywhere else. I’m not even aware of the potential issues, let alone have a way to resolve contradictions.
Today too many people mean this last way.