Who Owns It?

© MMXI V.1.0.3
by Morley Evans

Who owns it, you or them?

With the emergence of state level civilization in Egypt about 5,000 years ago, this question has been fundamental to social organization. Do people with more power get to take whatever they want from people without power?

When they can get away with it, rulers and their friends usually conclude they own everything, including the people they rule.

Democratic countries are supposedly organized to empower the people. In democracies, the rulers supposedly work for the ruled who can elect new rulers when they are unhappy with the old rulers.

Majority rule and elections are problematic themselves and democracy does not alter the fundamental premise of state level civilization which is that the rulers own everything, including the people they rule.

Democracy offers ballots rather than bullets. Elections fundamentally are still civil wars. The entire messy business from elections and gang warfare to world war can be collected under the term "politics".

Whenever law prevails, the question of who has the most power is irrelevant and Who Owns It? becomes paramount. Law always chooses rightful ownership over power, except when "politics" has its thumb on the scales of justice.