The Question of Governance is: Who do you belong to?

The difference between the representative democracies and the authoritarian brutes of the world come down to this single questions for each citizen: who do you belong to? For the democracy the answer is clear – you belong to yourself and can pursue whatever plans you see fit. For the authoritarian the answer is equally clear – you belong to them, the authoritarian state. You exist for the sole purpose of supporting, protecting and pampering the ruling party elite. Their ambitions and desires are all that matter. You are subservient to their ambitions. You are mere cattle on their ranch. The ranch belongs to them, the cattle belongs to them, everything belongs to them. Whatever scraps are left over can be squabbled over by the masses.