And they own a disproportionately small share of other forms of wealth. The Vital Link to Democracy Secure property rights, however, are essential to South Africa. One important reason is that true democracy is impossible without them. To the extent that a country's wealth and property are in the hands of the state or pass through it, government is empowered and subjects are disempowered. Accordingly, without private property rights, officials and politicians are both tempted by and capable of undemocratic abuses of power.
Resistance requires resources.
Democracy requires the existence of real opposition that must be able to mobilize substantial financial resources. This would be impossible in the absence of both private and secure property with which to organize and oppose government policy. For example, unless private citizens own or have the right to use places where they can meet and organize privately, produce and disseminate literature, and hold public meetings and demonstrations, effective democratic processes are clearly impossible. Dispersed property disperses power. By the same token, its ownership or control of most of a country's property undermines the distribution of power necessary for effective democracy.