A Re-exploration of the Essence of Individual Democracy under the Competitive Exclusion Principle

A Re-exploration of the Essence of Individual Democracy under the Competitive Exclusion Principle | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article A Re-exploration of the Essence of Individual Democracy under the Competitive Exclusion Principle JiJian Gu This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9057806/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 4 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Different social, ethnic, and organizational groups interpret democracy in diverse ways, leading to myriad conclusions. This diversity stems from social factors, such as knowledge, speculation, experience, and social background. These factors allow each person to believe their own ideas are consistent. Democracy is a popular global issue and is often invoked in political conflicts. Western views on human rights and self-justifying arguments further confuse and complicate the understanding of democracy’s essence. This paper uses questionnaire surveys to explore public demands for democracy in relation to spatial structure, resources, time, boundaries, tensions, and political resources. It highlights the diversity, characteristics, and regional differences of democracy, distinguishing variations in quantity, scale, and location. Clarifying these points helps settle debates about democracy’s essence. The paper suggests that each group should focus on its own democratic space and resources, avoiding comparisons without boundaries. Otherwise, unnecessary problems may arise. Humanities/Cultural and media studies Social science/Cultural and media studies Social science/Politics and international relations Social science/Social policy Social science/Sociology Competitive Exclusion Essence of Democracy Resource Constraint Boundary Verification Introduction In biology, species with identical ecological niches cannot coexist over the long term. The reason lies in the finiteness of resources and the high degree of overlap in their needs, so that the less competitive species will eventually be excluded, eliminated, or undergo niche differentiation. However, the nature of human democracy is fundamentally different, even vastly distinct: democracy among ordinary citizens differs only in its forms of expression, but not in its essence. Yet in practice, it has returned to a state similar to that in the biological world, where competition revolves around resources, needs, and other factors. Democracy is divided into two categories: political democracy and folk democracy; the former is an institutional arrangement, while the latter is a subjective feeling. This bears a subtle similarity to the concepts in Cohen’s(1971) Democracy. is not identical, and certainly not Joseph Schumpeter’s definition of "individuals acquiring the power to decide by means of a competitive struggle for the people's vote"(Joseph A.1999). Therefore,on the size of social space (rather than the connotations of power space and administrative space; see Sang Yucheng’s article, “ Expanding the Development Space of Whole-Process Democracy” ). Comparisons between countries are essentially comparisons through colored glasses, always believing and accepting that individual democracy in slightly more developed foreign countries is invariably larger and better than that in China, hence yearning for and pursuing it. In this regard, I believe that the controversy over the essence of individual democracy lies in its representation: the size of the activity space between individuals has become a hot topic of comparison among the world's populace. It is not to say that being able to speak unscrupulously or participate in demonstrations makes one more democratic; rather, whoever possesses a thicker resource bundle can enjoy a larger space for expression. When everyone chooses the results beneficial to themselves, in the eyes of Western scholars, "if competitive exclusion occurs under stable environmental conditions, and if two or more species depend on the same limited resources and have the same resource utilization patterns (i.e., complete niche overlap), they cannot coexist long-term, and ultimately the competition species with weaker competitive power will be excluded or become extinct". This theoretical conclusion of "either dead or injured" is worth debating. While such a possibility exists in political democracy between nations, the US long-arm jurisdiction over the world often serves as a carrier for this, in the individual democracy of the masses, it is nothing more than the size of space and the expansion or compression of survival boundaries. It is not a life-or-death struggle, but rather a game process of balancing and sharing the democratic social space. I. Literature Overview of Theories on the Essence of Democracy Current research on democracy encompasses five major perspectives: Marxist democratic theory, liberal representative democratic theory, radical left critique, and socialist democratic theory. However, these studies almost exclusively focus on varying democratic performance. However, political systems are not the focus of this paper; theories such as Arrows Impossibility Theorem, Acemoglu and Robinsons "Narrow Corridor" theory on individual democratic space, Buchanan’s Public Choice, Murray Edelman’s (Dawson & Edelman, 1965) "Symbolic Politics, " In fact, his argument also links individual democracy with politics, and essentially argues for a system arrangement rather than how resource sets constrain the extent and boundaries of individual democracy. Robert deliberative all without their research emphasis on democracy under institutional arrangements, which differs significantly from the scope and field of this paper. Although this study will involve a small number of institutional arrangements, they serve only as dependent variables. While there is a certain formal overlap with Habermas’s (Fitz-enz, 2000) Public Sphere theory, I cannot agree with his ideal degree of individual democracy where "citizens assume they can speak freely in this space without state interference," because such a degree does not exist in the real world. The resource constraint set of individual democracy includes the limitation of free space under institutional constraints. Some Western scholars have investigated the relationship between the economy and democracy from the perspectives of economic structure; when people discuss democracy with great joy, they each have their own tone and viewpoint. The author's view on democracy is primarily divided into two categories: folk and official democracy. The essence of folk democracy is determined by subjective indicators such as the degree of freedom of speech, the size of living space, and the demarcation of behavioral boundaries between individuals. Whether individual democracy is "contrary to the Pareto principle" or if "economics taking the Pareto principle as a principle will harm individual democracy," as Amartya Sen(Amartya Sen & James Foster, 2024) suggested, remains without a definitive answer. However, the author maintains that the economic welfare of the Pareto principle precisely broadens individual democracy, because within the spatial combination of individual democracy its boundary and thickness. Although this formally overlaps to some extent with Habermas’s (Jürgen Habermas, 2025) Public Sphere theory, I cannot agree with his assumption that "citizens can speak freely in this space without state interference," for such a degree of individual democracy does not exist in reality; the resource constraint set of individual democracy contains the limitation of free space under institutional constraints. On the contrary, Rawls’s "Pure Procedural Justice" theory suggests that the democratic process itself constitutes an ethical endorsement of the legitimacy of results; even under resource constraints (such as medical resource rationing), a transparent decision-making process can enhance social tolerance. This is not the fallacy of "ethical decay" in the democratic; voters are rational within the limits of individual democracy. If one discusses the degree of individual democracy using issues like American gun legalization, homosexuality, or drug use, they clearly exhibit liberal characteristics, namely, institutional dysfunction. "According to a 2014 Gallup poll, 44% of Americans believe their media is too liberal"(Zhang T.P,2016). Regarding the discussion of individual democracy, there are primarily the following perspectives: 1.1 Democracy influences various social fields Democracy is the "face" of a person living in the world, penetrating every corner of society. Zhang Guanghui (2012) is the most typical representative, stating that "defects in the mode of economic growth stem from defects in the political system, manifesting microscopically as insufficient development of participatory democracy." Yan Yu and Meng Tianguang (2022) elaborated their views on this issue from the interactive relationship between wealth distribution and democracy, though they provided a very macro research framework, including the macro nature of subjects and themes. (2014) Zhou Bibo (2014) worried that the essence of the debate between the left and right is an ideological trap, deviating from reasonable democratic forms. Massey (2005) argued that individuals learn democratic deliberation through interactions in local spaces as "places where difference meets" (such as community meetings and neighborhood discussions), emphasizing that individual identification with "local meaning" directly affects their intensity of democratic participation. In addition, scholars such as Luo Mingzhong et al. (2022), Zhang Jianhong and He Biqiong (2021), Xing Pengfei (2019), Li Lina (2017), and Wang Yan (2017) have expounded on the comprehensive influence and constraints of democracy on society from their respective perceptions and perspectives, much like Leipziger (2024), who explored the impact of democracy on racial inequality and analyzed the mechanism of democratic institutions in mitigating social inequality at the racial level, appearing quite distinctive. 1.2 Theory of democratic essence or structure This section explores what constitutes democracy and its internal meaning. Cohen’s (1971) "three conditions" theory is consistent with this paper. Furthermore, Xu Huidong and Wang Chunrong (2007) explored the essence of democracy under the title of "grassroots democracy" (Chen Zhong, 2023, referred to as ordinary individual democracy), which aligns with the scope of democratic carriers in this study, despite different terminology and significant differences in research details. Lou Chunjie posited that the middle class is a necessary but insufficient condition for achieving political democracy, which is highly worth in-depth discussion: why it is necessary but insufficient, and why it is not both necessary and sufficient. Ma Hairan and Zhao Guowei (2005) identified the realistic essence of democracy as the constitutional spirit, likely viewing the issue from the perspective of political institutional arrangements. Dong Chunyu and Wang Xiaojun expressed "rational ignorance" and the "logic of collective action," where Friedberg and Rahat (2025) analyzed the essence of individual democratic equality among ordinary people, with the former also analyzing its potential risks. Liu Dongliang (2012) explicitly defined the essence of democracy as a political method and selection procedure.Manent (1982) identified the democratic essence of ordinary individuals as a mode of existence under a state of equality. His conclusion that it is a way of life is starkly different from institutional arrangements, yet closely resembles Tocqueville’s (1835, 1840) view of the individual democratic essence of the masses as "public participation driven by demands for equality," much like Hannah Arendt’s (1958) democratic essence theory of "action in the public space"; diverse perspectives yield diverse conclusions, whether similar or contradictory. 1.3 Theory of democratic expression forms A considerable amount of research results focuses on the node of democratic expression forms. For instance, Rahat, et al. (2024) divided the individual democratic essence of ordinary people into two forms: "collective" and "individual." Conversely, Jin Zhenhua argued that participatory democracy faces three major problems: uneven participation, inefficiency caused by broad participation, and the lack of institutionalized participation, which is clearly a form-based expression rather than an in-depth exploration of the essence, implementation forms, carrier paths, or institutional dependencies of democracy. However, Manent’s deep analysis of the essence of ordinary "democratic man" and the inherent paradoxes of democracy does this confirm a natural conflict between individual democracy and institutional democracy? (Hu Xueping, 2011)." If democratic construction is confined solely to the level of institutions or procedures, ignoring mature individuals in democratic practice and public sphere construction, it will inevitably lead to a conflict between democratic institutions and the ideal of achieving democracy". Henri Lefebvre (1991) argued that individual democratic behavior does not occur passively in a given space, but rather reconstructs the political attributes of space through daily practices (such as assemblies and petitions), which slightly differs from Michel de Certeaus (1984) emphasis on "individuals reconstructing power space through 'daily practices,' transforming official 'strategic space' into the 'tactical space' of the people." 1.4 Digitalization influences the direction of democracy the Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg teams’ (2025) research shows that the design logic of digital space profoundly impacts the quality and effectiveness of individual democratic participation. Individual democratic behavior in digital space exhibits significant characteristics of "concealment" and "stratification"; migrant groups are more inclined to express political demands on ethnic-exclusive social platforms . The MPG.PuRe think tank (2022) pointed out that the influence of digital media on individual democratic behavior presents a "double-edged sword" effect: on one hand, it improves the efficiency of information acquisition and the convenience of expression (such as petition signing via social media); on the other hand, it exacerbates the "echo chamber effect," where individuals tend to reinforce existing views in homogenized digital spaces (Wang J.& Li N.CH.2025). The team further explored the strategic pathways for the international communication of democracy, finding significant differences from traditional democratic communication models. Wang Longfei (2025) emphasized the characteristics of the Chinese model in digital democratic practice. Research by Du Qian and Zhu Xiaoguang (2025) and Zhou Wei (2022) both show that digital technology can empower democratic practice. Jin Longjun and Zhai Yi (2022) found that the digitalization process effectively promotes the level of rural democratic governance. Xiong Zhen and Xiao Wenjian (2008) used the South Korean electronic document management reform as a case study to analyze in depth the risks and hopes inherent in the digital democracy process. 1.5 Research on democracy from "unconventional" perspectives Patrick M. Jen (2025) integrated the theories of Lefebvre and de Certeau to propose a "physical-interaction-representation" public space model to analyze the spatial expression mechanisms of individual democratic behavior. The European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) (2025) found that the spatial distance between an individual's constituency and the national capital significantly affects democratic satisfaction. Michael Hankinson (2020) specifically emphasized that the spatial scale of institutions directly shapes individual democratic preferences and behavior. However, Wang Yilin (2020), Lin Tai (2017), and Lyu Qin (2003) concluded that democracy cannot be applied indiscriminately, whereas Shao Shuai (2015) believed it can be.Zhou Bibo (2014) asserted that mass democracy and elite democracy should be harmoniously unified, consistent with Wang Ming’s (2022) claim that liberalism and democracy are complementary, yet in reality, the two are discordant and even opposing at times and in specific spaces. Curiously, Buck explored the essence of democratic preferences among ordinary individuals from the perspective of personality traits rather than directly studying the essence of democracy itself, yet unexpectedly touched upon a corner of democracy's essence. II. The Five Hypotheses of This Study Hypothesis 1: Excessive focus on personal survival space. Ordinary people participate relatively passively in democratic institutions, focusing a large amount of energy on their own degree of freedom and the size of their democratic space, even when political democracy has expectations and requirements for them. The root cause is an over-focus on personal living conditions and free expression, leading to a lack of sensitivity, concern, and passion for overall social matters and the direction of democratic development. This weakens social democratic mechanisms while inadvertently and deliberately strengthening their own civic consciousness and individual democratic space. When the majority are immersed in the maintenance and pursuit of their own free democratic interests, the processes and results of collective free democracy easily become objects of comparison between political democratic entities and the starting point for mutual criticism, further resulting in comparisons of individual democracy in the open and contests in the dark. Hypothesis 2: Individuals in the realm of individual democracy are rational. A key trait of Chinese people is a strong ability to understand, support, and implement democratic institutional arrangements in public space, characterized by high Rawlsian tolerance and rational compliance with collective democratic arrangements. However, once entering or involving the boundaries of individual democracy or approaching the edges of their own democratic freedom—perhaps due to emotional swings, information asymmetry, or group effect interference—ordinary people often exhibit impulsive, biased, or irrational instincts, thus becoming non-fully rational individuals. This, to some extent, confirms Zhang Yuyan’s discourse on individual rationality and the "institutional paradox": "the result gradually deviates from the goal of efficient resource allocation and ultimately violates the individual's original intention of pursuing maximum welfare" (Zhang Y.Y, 1993). This represents the "freedom paradox" between collective and individual democracy. Individual democracy in the Western world is even more false and lost; "hypocrisy is a 'by-product' of Western liberal democracy, and the 'ideological matrix' inherent in it makes hypocrisy established as unavoidable and even necessary"(Wu Guanjun, 2024). Clearly, deception in Western political democracy has led to "hypocrisy as an 'ordinary vice' in Western liberal democratic societies, where citizens are accustomed to disappointment and being deceived"(Shklar, 1984). This leads to a partial loss or impairment of human rational behavior, which is likely to further exacerbate social conflict or affect individual perceptions of the rationality of democratic freedom when the boundaries between the collective and the individual clash. Hypothesis 3: Preemptive thinking always prevails in individual space, emphasizing the individual's tendency for immediate occupancy of free space or resource sets. The mental space created by the bandit-style transition from collective to individual democracy in the West is a free space of the "law of the jungle," predicated on being stronger than the others. The exercise of their individual democracy involves forming their own discourse system an apparently beautiful display of individual democracy. scholars like Judith Shklar, James March and Johan Olsen, Stephen Krasner, and Susanna Dowie have provided profound critiques and exposures of this. However, this precisely reveals the preemptive thinking of individuals regarding democratic freedom; while more evident and aggressive in the West, Chinese people are not immune to these shackles. They similarly face a strong desire to occupy resources for their own democratic freedom, constantly finding ways to expand their democratic free space, where this thinking prevails. Hypothesis 4: Unintentional compliance with the conformity effect. The conformity effect frequently occurs in social settings, particularly prominent in the field of individual democracy. The snowballing behavior of Western protest columns is clearly visible, its essence stemming from their internal boundary identification with individual democracy. However, Chinese people share the same trait in this field, namely "changing one's own behavior and attitudes to achieve consistency with others"(Cialdini & Goldstein, 2004). Compared to expressions in Western cultural contexts, Chinese conformity behavior is often more reserved and subtle. In a Chinese social environment emphasizing collectivism and harmonious coexistence, individuals are more inclined to adjust themselves in an unostentatious manner, achieving consistency through subtle emotional control, indirect verbal expression, or situational silence, rather than through behavior imitation or public statements.characteristics of conformity remain the same. Hypothesis 5: Selective neglect of institutional arrangement constraints. Within this finite set, there are still many political the populace selectively ignores them, caring only about their own feelings. "When asked 'What does democracy mean?', the vast majority of ordinary citizens use positive words to describe democracy, such as being free and easy, a good life, equality and justice, etc."(Chan, 2008). When the individual democratic space is damaged, or the expansion of one's own democratic freedom space is blocked, having an appeal support is a sign of selective neglect of institutional arrangements. Ⅲ. A New Perspective on the Essence of Democracy Deconstructing the Resource Set of Individual Democratic Essence under the Competitive Exclusion Principle. The resource constraint set of individual democracy refers to the finite collection of socially disposable material resources (natural resources, capital, technology, human resources, infrastructure, information, and data, etc.) and non-material resources (time, institutional costs, cultural beliefs, freedom of speech and behavior, political VIP...status, etc.). All these resources possess "shared" and "universal" characteristics, without special regulations or VIP exclusivity. That is, in the public space of a political entity, all parties compete for the same resources, mutually excluding one another, and sometimes even engage in life-or-death struggles. Just as "two species with completely overlapping ecological niches cannot coexist for long; the weaker competitor will be pushed out by the dominant species, ultimately leading to local extinction or forced niche differentiation" (Gause, G. F, 1934).However, when applied to the study of democracy and freedom, the author only partially adopts the thinking of the competitive exclusion principle. Fundamentally, the competitive exclusion of democratic freedom is essentially a closed-loop structure of competition-exclusion-game-coopetition. 3.1 Material resources are the most direct reaction carriers for individual democracy . This constraint set includes at least six major parts, forming the foundational support points for the individual's democratic survival space. Everyone uses, occupies, and utilizes these material resources. Nevertheless, there is a positive correlation between the size of the free space in individual democracies and the size of the free space in the overall democracy. (1) Natural resources constitute the specificity of individual democracy. They are the most unique resource elements—water, climate, land, biology, minerals, and oceans belong to no one and are generally framed as state-owned public assets. Even in capitalist countries, state ownership is dominant, making them largely unrelated to individuals. Only a few developers or operators possess a high "utility attribute" of natural resources, which will inevitably inflate their individual democratic space to an extent unreachable by the public. However, this is limited to a very small group, and their influence on the general populace can be almost ignored. The vast majority simply share the spatial commonality of these resources. All other conditions being equal, one measures in "mutual crowding" whose power is greater or energy more sufficient to gain a slight upper hand, though substantive differences are minimal. "The spatial status of these two aspects stipulates fundamental conditions such as territory and population, providing a 'natural background and stage scene' for democratic politics and its practice"(James & Martin,1989). These fall within the national political scope and overlap slightly with this concept. However, Preston James and Geoffrey Martin have not explicitly highlighted the impact and qualitative nature of natural resources' natural attributes on individual democracy. Conversely, the assertion by Wang Haiyu and Ai Kunpeng (2025) that "space constitutes the ontological basis for the existence of democratic politics and its practice, influencing and shaping each other" shifts to the institutional arrangement phase, which is not yet argued in this paper. While their conclusions are similar, the relevance to this topic is low. Among all literature, Ishii Takaharu's conclusion states that "natural resources can be used to fund the consolidation of autocratic regimes and the promotion of false democracy; the higher the natural resource endowment, the more political funding politicians obtain from natural resources, introducing democratic political systems to gain political power through electoral fraud"(Takaharu, 2024). This statement indeed proves that the intake of natural resources can effectively expand the boundaries of individual democracy, but this is precisely a major malady in Western individual democracy: the ability to expand individual democratic space by seizing state-owned natural resources that should be "shared by everyone." In the socialist governance structures of China and elsewhere, such "seizure" cannot achieve its goal, and Chinese democratic politics is not formed through desperate elections. Thus, the effect brought by the public nature of natural resources on individual democracy is natural, consistent, and balanced. "The will of the majority, human dignity and rights, public welfare, freedom, equality, order, and security are fundamental value pursuits contained within democracy"(Cialdini & Goldstein, 2004). It is indeed fitting. (2) Infrastructure is an egalitarian carrier for measuring individual democracy. The average occupancy of infrastructure is a key factor in measuring individual democratic space. However, due to significant differences between China and abroad—particularly in Western capitalist countries where private sector ownership of infrastructure is substantial—the US "landlord terminal" model exists where "ports act as bond issuers to bear debt, while terminal operators pay rent to the port authority and bear their own operating profits and losses". As landlords, they inevitably hold immense discourse power in privately controlled infrastructure fields like ports, demonstrating their democratic space to be highly "spacious." "Specific operations are carried out by private operators, who purchase loading and unloading machinery for operations like handling, storage, and logistics" (Zhang J.Y.2005). This aligns with the AIIB (AIIB,2026) forecast: "The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank stated in a recent report that as Asia recovers from the economic losses of the pandemic, privatization of infrastructure assets will be a major future trend". However, China differs from the West; Chinese infrastructure is state-owned. Questions like "Why is China's power grid controlled by state-owned enterprises when grids in developed countries are managed by private enterprises?" (Qi H.X.2025) highlights that China does not allow for private or individual capital participation in infrastructure. Chinese citizens enjoy equal space in individual democracy; no one has slightly more space than others. "Equality before the law is an indisputable consensus in modern public political discourse. However, defining the concept of legal equality theoretically presents many thorny disputes"(Ge S.Y.2023). Nevertheless, the author uses the concept of "equality for all" to argue that, in the expression of individual democracy within the enjoyment of infrastructure space, there is no so-called spatial scale; it is simply a shared resource. This confirms Yan Huiying’s(Yan.H.Y.2021) discourse and judgment that "opposition naturally ceases to exist". That is to say, infrastructure is an egalitarian measure of individual democracy; searching for this assertion on CNKI yields no references. Even when inputting it into Baidu AI for an intelligent answer, the result is "The content you entered may not be suitable for generation, please try different content." (Gao H.B.2015)This precisely confirms the innovation of this study, aligning with Shen Yang and Liu Yuchao’s(2022) statement that "building a modern infrastructure system is more conducive to enhancing the people's sense of gain, happiness, and security". (3) Capital naturally becomes a prominent subject of individual democracy. Capital has always been a powerful and prominent "aristocrat" in society, performing "quite well" in every corner of social life across all times and regions. It frequently flaunts its prestige, with Western capital being particularly conspicuous. It exhibits three main behaviors—one negative and two positives: ① Capital influences the general public’s of democracy's direction. This can be a positive incentive; scholars like Wang Xinsong have a deep understanding of this, believing that "social capital, characterized by trust, networks, and norms, is conducive to the operation of institutions and the construction of social order, enhancing individual and collective interests and creating greater social value during the distribution and integration of social resources"(Wang X.S.etal,2023). However, it can also act as a negative regulation, including the risk of alienation and endangering democratic health. Figures like Shen Boyang, Joshua Wong, and Nathan Law are largely influenced by capital in steering the malicious orientation of so-called democratic propaganda. Clues can be found in the reports by Wu Zijia (2025) and Shi Wei (2021); the risk of society’s alienation by capital is shocking. This includes both domestic and foreign capital behavior. Generally, Chinese domestic capital rarely interferes with democratic behavior, yet precautions remain necessary. ② It can effectively stimulate democratic resilience, a function primarily dependent on social capital. This social capital differs functionally from corporate, financial, and private capital. "Shared aspiration" characterizes social capital as a temporary combination or a kind of "conscience capital," rather than "capital" in the traditional sense. It is a "net-weaving capital" of the "envying the fish at the edge of the pool" type, so its functionality generally leans toward positive capital. Its goal is to solve problems or fill gaps in democratic life. "Self-governance theory describes a group of individuals with ample social capital, strong democratic awareness, and autonomous capability achieving consistency between individual and collective rationality through appropriate institutional arrangements"(Sun W, 2011). This is essentially an innovative embodiment of that function. However, some worrisome ailments have emerged, such as "under the influence of Chinese traditional culture, individuals exhibit excessive dependence and lack independent character, preventing the full development of individuality"(Xu D.T.1998). Yet, there is no need for excessive concern. Similar to the American "associational tradition" observed by Tocqueville or the "Democratic Consultative Meetings" in Wenling, Zhejiang, the primary role is to accelerate the repair, growth, and innovation of social order, supporting the further development of democratic resilience. Furthermore, ③enhancing individual democratic efficacy, which refers to the positive growth and development of personal democratic freedom. Robert Putnam’s (Robert D. Putnam, 2015) research on Italy that in northern Italy, where abundant social capital promoted civil associations active among the people. Martin Wolf(Wolf M.2019) is deeply concerned that capital has led to a regressive democratic system, thus questioning "Why manipulated capitalism is destroying liberal democracy." Meanwhile, Chinese scholar Lin Yi raised related doubts about "intentionally covering up or embellishing the responsibility of liberal democracy and Western nations in creating a 'democratization crisis'"(Lin Y.& Wang Q.CH.2025). However, the positive effects are primary and cannot be ignored, mainly manifesting in enhancing individual democratic experience and "self-perception," and active participation in folk democratic activities. Individual democratic efficacy is the sense of experience in one's own democratic space, whether this subjective feeling is satisfied or the degree of psychological acceptance. The research perspective of scholars like Han Xiping is quite intriguing: "The struggle of ideas is a form of the struggle for discourse power; behind ideas lies a complete set of value evaluation systems that determine the quality of a specific behavior. The core of the struggle over ideas is the competition over value-evaluation systems. The core of a specific value evaluation system's construction and operation lies in the subject that serves as the starting and ending points for the calculation of interest. In history, the concept of democracy has gone through stages where either the group or the individual served as the starting and ending point for interest calculation, which is why the same behavior can form vastly different value evaluations under the democratic concept"(Han X.P. &Wang X.B.2020). That is, individual democracy is a subjective feeling and the key to individual democracy. (4) Technology can influence the spatial transition of individual democracy. In any era or regional society, the impact of technology on the spatial transition of individual democracy is immense and can be felt intuitively and subjectively. "Social media self-expression practices can point toward an individualization state with more intersubjective meaning"(Zhang R.CH. & Lu K.l.2025). However, "individualization in China includes both the pursuit of material life, job security, and personal freedom in the first modernity, and the requirement to respond to risks and uncertainties through individual autonomous practice in the second modernity"(Yan,Y.X.2008). Taking smartphones as an example, for individuals who cannot or refuse to keep up with the times, their space in fields like payments, photography, social networking, navigation, internet surfing, gaming, and interaction clearly "shrinks" and withers, despite no change in other conditions. This "crowded out" and "compressed" space is naturally shared by mutually exclusive competitors who share the same democratic space, inadvertently increasing the individual democratic space of another group. Liu Qingyou, in his 1999 article titled “Relying on Technological Innovation to Open up Survival Space,” explicitly described the relationship between human group survival space and technological innovation. his research focused on the survival and development of enterprises. Michael Papays (2014) "A technology-driven direct democracy capable of deep insight into voters' true thoughts" only the relationship between administrative democracy and technology, rather than the inflation or compression of individual democratic space. Technology here refers to the additional or "growth" income brought by an individual's specialized skill, representing a social space expansion relative to "peers" of that technology. "While contemporary democratic innovations, such as deliberative forums and participatory budgeting, have shown promise in improving civic engagement and reducing polarization, they often fail to address deeper socioeconomic inequalities that undermine democratic legitimacy"(Vlahos,2025)."it can be concluded that the political involvement of the younger generation has undergone a significant transformation along with the development of digital technology and social media platforms. In this elaboration, the main findings of each study will be described in more depth to understand how digital technology is the main means of encouraging young people's political participation in the modern era." (Naharuddin, A etal.2025)can actually be either the compression of individual democratic social space by political systems or a result of competition between individual citizens for other reasons. Of course, this includes changes to the social democratic space by technology, which objectively exists. (5) Human resource reform becomes a wedge for individual democratic expansion . If the social space of individual democracy is to expand to a certain "realm" and satisfy the "height" of individual democratic expression when other conditions cannot be changed, one must awaken from the aspect of their own human resources to realize the expansion and extension of individual democratic free space to a considerable degree. ① This must be resolved in at least the following two areas: First, Certain human resource systems restrict human resource mobility, development, and breakthrough to some extent. Normally, any political entity imposes certain limits and constraints on human resources without exception, merely manifesting as different entities having different degrees of constraint. "The pre-Qin period formed the initial framework of 'census and corvée; the Qin and Han established the mature form of 'status solidification and tight control' through codification; the Wei, Jin, to Song and Yuan showed the variant characteristics of 'aristocratic privilege and ethnic stratification; the Ming and Qing completed the cycle of dual registration and system collapse; and since modern times, there has been a gradual transition toward 'status equality and service orientation'"(Liu Zh.Sh.2025) . Western societies face the same issue, even more complex than China's. First, for immigrants, "besides difficulties in language, life adaptation, and rebuilding social networks, they are often refused various social rights enjoyed by citizens of the host country because they lack citizenship"(Jie D.Zh.2009). Second, for native residents, "civil rights made great strides in the 18th century, the development of political rights occupied the entire 19th and extended to the early 20th century, and social rights were only gradually recognized in the 20th century"(Marshall, 1976). Even now, "this mobility is placed under normative full-time panoramic surveillance to identify and filter which can be exchanged and circulated and which cannot, to prevent danger rather than simply obstructing flow through isolation and restriction"(Huang G.2020). Therefore, once mobility restrictions are partially or fully lifted, the human resource breakthrough will naturally expand individual democratic free space, pushing boundaries outward and forming new wedges for a new spatial framework. ② Reform of comprehensive human resource capability significantly expands personal democratic space. Under equal conditions, if breakthroughs in mobility restrictions and other institutional barriers cannot be achieved, changing one's own comprehensive ability and literacy is indeed an essential and rare path. When an individual elevates their comprehensive capability beyond "peer individuals"(Zhao M.Ch.2020)," at this point, every part of every person potentially has attributes that transcend other parts due to differences in the degree of self-identification. The return of discourse power and individual value is the reconstruction of the 'primary identity' within the pluralistic self, using self-actualization as a path, the progress of individual return, and the reconstruction of discourse power from the few to the universal individual". Only when an individual can break through themselves and change the original comprehensive capability ecology can they qualitatively and fully expand their personal survival space. Put differently, shifts in an individual’s comprehensive human resource capabilities constitute the ideal moment for adjustments to their democratic space. As Kang Hongmei and Xiao Xuemei stated(Kang H.M.& Xiao X.M.2025), Li Weichao and Wang Wei(Li W.Ch.& Wang W.2019). (6) Information and data highlight the elite characteristics of individual democracy. Within the effective components of individual democratic material resources, information and data capabilities possess exclusive features—representing exclusivity in both technology and capability. This belongs to complex characteristics and "high-end, precision, and advanced" traits. Once an individual possesses this type of resource attribute, their elite connotation naturally becomes apparent. Li M.Y(2021), in his article Strategies for Leaders to Cope with the Monopoly of Technology and Capability by Elite Subordinates , deeply studied how "the monopoly of technology and capability by elite subordinates mainly manifests in building technology and capability barriers, setting technology and capability locks, and creating technology and capability alliances, which can bring harms such as weakening leadership authority, obstructing work progress, deteriorating the organizational ecology, and weakening innovation capability". From another perspective, this indicates that these elite individuals can naturally expand the upper limit of their own democratic space. For example, the monthly salary of data analysts recruited on 51job ranges from 6,000 RMB in Chongqing to 22,000 RMB in Kunshan, with only a bachelor's degree required. features in this field are prominent, contrasting sharply with non-elite talent in other industries, such as e-commerce customer service (3,500-6,000 RMB). Their democratic expressions in social space are bound to differ. I appreciate Ms. Lin Pan’s research conclusion: "Whether technical personnel can 'live off their skills'—attaining high socio-economic status or upward mobility through professional capability—shows phased differences in state-owned enterprises in New China"(Lin P.2018). At that time, technicians and information/data specialists shared common origins as elite representatives of individual democracy. Regardless of time or place, they find themselves in a similar scenario: "The French high-end talent gathering strategy, starting with the establishment of the grandes écoles system in the 19th century, gradually formed a personal development path over two hundred years: technical elite → top grandes écoles → state corps → administrative/technical basic positions → ministerial cabinets → politicians/senior civil servants/public enterprise managers"(Yu Y.D.& Chen Y.2013), which confirms this judgment. 3.2 Non-material resources drive the spatial position movement of individual democratic boundaries If natural resource categories are considered hard constraints on individual democracy, then non-material resource constraints constitute the soft power that drives the displacement of individual democratic space, comprising the following five aspects. (1) Time precipitates the channels and structures of individual democracy. Regardless of field or level, individuals will surely change their channels and structures.Huang Yanhong’s judgment that "the temporalization of the concept of democracy means that the past, present, and future are integrated into a movement toward equality, thus granting history a temporal standard" fully expresses the positive role of time's precipitation. Specifically, "In Tocqueville’s discourse, democracy and aristocracy form a dynamic pair of opposing concepts; democracy becomes the arrow of time guiding history, weakening aristocracy over time and pushing equality to new heights"(Huang Y.H.2019). Within the social elite (excluding political figures as defined in Ban Jie’s (2005) thesis), older individuals possess greater seniority. and can be seen as masters or celebrities, derived from long-accumulated experience, rationality, and contribution. This yields greater respect and awe, deeply changing the channels and structures of individual democratic boundaries. "Western modern states claim to have created the 'model' of liberal democracy, but it has degenerated into elite democracy, replacing direct democracy, using formal democracy to mask substantive democracy, greatly devaluing democratic worth. China's democratic development, guided by the state, has carved out a new path of whole-process people's democracy, showing immense advantages in creating organic connections among the people"(Chen Y.2022). This statement clearly shows the differences in democratic acquisition between East and West. The US is a typical representative of "voter democracy"(Tong D.Zh.2024), focusing more on voters than the people. Over time, history accumulates to create diverse channels and solid structures for individual democracy—channels such as legal frameworks and individual rights. As the information age matures, nations increasingly value individual democracy driven by time, turning figures with high prestige among the populace into significant representatives of it. (2) Cultural beliefs lock the growth path of individual democracy. The extent of cultural beliefs' influence on an individual exceeds imagination, sometimes reaching a level of obstinacy unto death. Classics like "If a man hears the Tao in the morning, he may die in the evening without regret" ( Analects ), "To be above the power of riches and honors to make dissipated, of poverty and mean condition to make swerve from principle, and of power and force to make bend: these characteristics constitute the great man" ( Mencius ), "Better to be a piece of broken jade than a whole tile" ( Book of Northern Qi ), "The scholar dies for fame, the greedy man for wealth, the martyr for integrity" ( Zhuangzi ) "His body may be killed, but his will cannot be seized" ( School Sayings of Confucius ) and other classic cultural contexts of steadfast faith easily lead to path locking, creating a profound sense of coercion for individual democratic claims. Western cultural beliefs share similar steadfast adherence: "We must obey God rather than men" ( Acts ), "Let the wild beasts pounce on me, if only I may reach Jesus Christ" ( Romans ), the French director's "Man lives for some kind of faith," and "To endure the flame for a moment for justice is better than enduring eternal fire" ( To Diognetus ) are analogous to Chinese cultural beliefs (anchoring)(Denzau & North, 1994). That is, cultural faith in any society is the "highest value of justice judgment" for individual democracy, the most worthwhile democratic realm. Yet it easily locks into a state: "Once a concept or institution is formed, it continuously generates new settings that support and motivate each other. Through such positive feedback, it reinforces and solidifies itself. Once dependency forms, it anchors to existing models, making it hard to escape or innovate". This results in path dependency or locking into a state, yielding either incomparable benefits or unexpected losses. This judgment differs from that of Arthur T. Denzau and Douglass C. North. Using the papal election after Francis as an example: "Nominate 10 bishops, then vote to select the top three, then hold multiple rounds until one receives a two-thirds majority" (Anonymous,2025). Entering the 10 nominees locks the individual within a range in this cultural faith path, granting extraordinary potential benefits, with winning being a "supreme windfall" of becoming Pope. This is where cultural faith path locking or dependency differs from economic institutional locking. Therefore, whether the growth path of individual democracy in cultural faith is locked or innovated has no substantive correlation, nor is there substantive evidence of damage; opportunities and challenges coexist, requiring specific analysis of the environment. (3) Freedom of speech and behavior directly reflects the spatial boundaries of individual democracy. The standard for measuring freedom of speech is not individual expression at will, but individual demand to a certain degree. "A considerable number of scholars, officials, and state-owned enterprise leaders currently lack theoretical confidence and thus institutional confidence, resulting in saying one thing while meaning another, duplicity, and split personality any so-called 'reform' that breaks the institutional bottom line is not reform, but 'color revolution' "(Yu Y.H.2024).Thus, "our current speech regulation system cannot well clarify the boundary between speech regulation and the protection of freedom of speech, potentially conflicting with civil speech freedom protection during the regulation process"(Zheng W.L.2022). This requires individual democracy to have clear spatial boundaries within its own resource constraint set when expressing opinions. A comparison of speech freedom between citizens of Country A and those of Country B shows that the democratic expressive space of Country A’s individuals is much larger, because the average resource constraint set of Country B is far lower than that of Country A (see table 1). Even if certain aspects appear superior, under fixed resource-constraint conditions—combined with the caste system and the discriminatory female culture on the other side—the resource imbalances create a large gap in the sense of boundaries within the democratic social space of citizens in the two countries. This requires that "individuals, when facing modern risks in autonomous decision-making practices, must possess the belief and ethics to balance personal development and altruistic obligations to achieve self-reconnection"(Li R.R.2014; Yang J.2023). People like Yang XX, who breathed "sweet American air," lost themselves in democratic expression, transition, balance, and reconnection; expression without boundaries led to a dark future. Even in the US, many restrictions exist: "Although the First Amendment protects 'freedom of speech,' the US still has many legal restrictions. On the premise of content neutrality, the government can reasonably restrict the time, place, and manner of speech. Based on US history and tradition, the government can also impose content restrictions on several special categories, including incitement to immediate crime, obscenity, fighting words, and defamation, but speech containing only false information does not alone constitute a special category"(Zhang Y.2020). Even in a seemingly free America, ordinary citizens have little room for expression or freedom before figures like "1-Trump," not to mention tragedies where individuals might be shot even while complying with police orders. Undoubtedly, worldwide, freedom of speech and behavior directly reflects the spatial boundaries of individual democracy, all expressed within a constrained space and not unscrupulously. Table1: Quantitative Comparison of Core Indicators in 8 Dimensions Dimension Indicator Country A Country B Data Sources and Literature Citations Natural resources Per capita water resources 2129.9 cubic meters 1513 cubic meters Toutiao： http://m.toutiao.com/group/7174340737411383846/ Country A Water Resources Bulletin：https://data.stats.gov.cn/easyquery.htm?cn=A01 CWC： https://cwc.gov.in/ per capita forest area 1.5 hectares per thousand people 0.52 hectares per thousand people FAO： https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/GF Infrastructure per capita railway mileage 11 kilometers per 10,000 people 4.7 kilometers per 10,000 people Toutiao： http://m.toutiao.com/group/7599536245454242338/ MOT： https://data.stats.gov.cn/easyquery.htm?cn=A01 Ministry of Railways of Country B： https://indianrailways.gov.in/ Per capita power generation 7163 kilowatt-hours 1050-1500 kilowatt-hours IEA： https://www.iea.org/countries/Country A 5G Base Station Density 34.4 seats per 10,000 people 12.98 seats per 10,000 people Xinhua News Agency： http://big5.www.gov.cn/gate/big5/www.gov.cn/lianbo/202601/content_7056423.htm Baidu： https://mr.baidu.com/r/1QSrOhlT9Ti?f=cp&rs=2637663915&ruk=VpsUBeVC2WAcEFjZ8GlK4A&u=ebd88d37fe3a354c&urlext=%7B%22cuid%22%3A%22luHku0ixv8_AuHt3gu-3agafH8_da2iG08Sei0urv8Kr0qqSB%22%7D MIIT： https://www.miit.gov.cn/gxsj/tjfx/txy/ DoT： TRAIhttps://www.trai.gov.in/ Capital Per Capita Nominal GDP $13303 $2697 World Bank：https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?locations=CN Per capita residential deposit $15180 $1240 PBOC： https://data.stats.gov.cn/easyquery.htm?cn=A01 RBI：RBIhttps://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/AnnualPublications.aspx?head=Handbook%20of%20Statistics Technology R&D investment as a percentage of GDP 2.5% 1.2% World Bank：https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/GB.XPD.RSDV.GD.ZS?locations=CN Patents per capita 12.9 items per 10,000 people 0.8 items per 10,000 people WIPO： https://www.wipo.int/ipstats/en/ Human Resources Adult literacy rate 97.3% 80.9% World Bank： https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.ADT.LITR.ZS?locations=CN Labor Force Participation Rate 66.4% 40.8% ILO： https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/ Female Labor Participation Rate 70% 22.5% ILO： https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/ Information data Internet penetration rate 79.7% 55.3% DATAREPORTAL： https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2025-Country B?utm_source=podnews.net&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=podnews.net%3A2025-10-20 Reform Daily Online： http://www.cfgw.net.cn/m/xb/content/2025-07/21/content_25140820.html CNNIC： https://www.cnnic.net.cn/ Country BTelecommunications Administration Bureau TRAI / ITU： https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/stat/default.aspx Time freedom Annual average working hours 2120 hours 2350 hours ILO ： https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=ANHRS Average commuting time 38 minutes per day 52 minutes per day Country A Urban Commuting Monitoring Report/ Baidu Maps： https://huiyan.baidu.com/reports/ Country B National Sample Survey Organization NSSO：http://mospi.nic.in/national-sample-survey-office-nsso Social space Index of Women's Social Status （1-10） 7.2 4.8 GII/ UNDP： https://wbl.worldbank.org/ Institutional Cost (Enterprise Compliance Time Consumption) 87 hours per year 214 hours per year Doing Business Report, the World Bank：https://www.doingbusiness.org/en/data/doing-business-score Note: This data table is organized and generated by DouPo, and verified by Zhao Kai Xin, Zhao Xue Yu, and Jia Peng Yi. (4) The level of "social status" affects the "length" and "width" of individual democracy. Political status here specifically excludes public officials within the state administrative system, Wall Street financial groups, and groups with deep political-business connections, referring exclusively to the "masses" or "commoners." There are cases or specific periods where the political status of these groups also differs, such as the Miao "Zhai Lao," Yi "De Gu," Tibetan "Khenpo," Dai "Bo Zhang," Naxi "Dongba," Wa "Touren," Jingpo "Shanguan," Hani "Migu," Kazakh "Awule," Kenyan Maasai chiefs, South African Zulu chiefs, Nigerian Yoruba chiefs, Ethiopian Oromo elders, Southern African Sangoma, American Navajo elders, Canadian Iroquois elders, Mexican Aztec descendant Cacique, Latino community leaders, Greek Cretan village elders, North African community elders in Paris, Noongar elders in Western Australia, Samoan and Tongan Matai, etc. Their political status differs from that of ordinary "masses," "citizens," or "commoners," sometimes significantly. As Liao Yang said, "Every specific ethnic member can choose their own different identification in different categories and levels centered on themselves based on the bottom-up inter-ethnic and intra-ethnic environment"(Liao Y.2004). Differences in political status affect the length and width of their individual democracy. "Political culture is the collective expression of individual political behavior, political experience, and political socialization. It reflects.the soft environment of social political operation"(Wang Zh.J.2001), serving as a footnote to "length" and "width," enveloping every ordinary person trying to find space for democratic expression. (5) Institutional costs constrain the boundary of individual democracy. The institutional cost theory proposed by the New Institutional Economics school, represented by North(2008), has two meanings: costs from induced institutional change and costs from mandatory change. However, their stance focuses on the quantitative perspective of national political systems and economic performance. North’s theory of institutional change mainly consists of three parts: the micro-level theory of change motivation, the meso-level theory of change methods, and the macro-level theory of change paths. At the micro level, North highlighted the role of relative price and preference changes in driving institutional change at the meso level, North examined two ways organizations achieve institutional change: knowledge development and continuous interaction; at the macro level, North examined important factors shaping the disparate institutional development and change paths of different economies, namely increasing returns and incomplete markets" (Cai X.B.2016). Individual democratic boundaries are an arrangement "aimed at constructing a reliable causal explanation mechanism for incremental and imperceptible institutional change phenomena like drift, conversion, layering, and substitution from deep internal connections"(Long X.G.& Wang J.H.2025). Breaking the boundary of individual democratic social space involves costs, and whether these costs are high or low depends on whether it is a purely individual act or a collective crystallization. When an isolated individual tries to expand their social space and increase individual democratic freedom, overcoming institutional constraints involves at least four costs: ①Time cost, Wang Fenglei and Qiqige (Wang F.L.& Qi Q.G.2024), taking the growth of young teachers as an example, noted they must pay time costs in six areas: urgency, teaching and research time, parenting time, leisure time, leniency, and accumulation/gradualism. These are just "normal range" costs, far from the time cost for innovative breakthroughs or breaking institutional constraints. Thus, before an individual exerts force in one direction to create qualitative change, the time cost to break institutional constraints is exponentially higher than that of a collective, sometimes costing a lifetime. ② Economic cost, the amount required to break the individual democratic expressive social space. This refers to the "normal" growth and expansion of individual democratic space, opposite to the destructive paths of people like Shen Boyang. Even so, changing the institutional constraint framework requires unexpected economic costs. For example, the "Tencent Electronic Sign-Small IOU" service aims to autonomously address individual financial activity space, but some "714 high-cannon" lenders inflate principal amounts or shorten loan terms. Users bear extremely high annual interest; since the electronic IOU is legally binding, they must repay huge sums... though it sets a 12% (Jiang,M.Y.& Zhang,R.W.2021) annual interest cap, it may still result in catastrophic economic costs. ③Risk cost: institutional constraints that must be obeyed for democracy. Some individuals, in attempting to break boundaries or perceived constraints, "expand" indiscriminately and without a bottom line. Such behavior reaches the point where "Article 103 of the Criminal Law stipulates the 'Crime of Splitting the Country': Organizing, planning, or implementing splitting the country or undermining national unity; ringleaders or those with serious crimes are sentenced to life imprisonment or fixed-term imprisonment of over ten years; active participants are sentenced to three to ten years"(NetEase, 2020), Under these standards, the risk cost is enormous. ④ Opportunity cost, infinite desires and limited resources, one must consider opportunity cost in everything. Whether the scarcity opportunity cost of breaking institutional constraints on individual democratic boundaries is high or low depends on the individual's upper limit of comprehensive capability. Friedrich von Wieser’s (Wieser,F.V.2020) definition —"where production factors can be used for many different purposes, one must choose the most economically efficient use in terms of kind and quantity"—does not specify the perspective: is it the individual's perceived best efficiency or others' perceived best return? The author identifies that this opportunity cost must be based on the individual's comparison of returns and costs relative to their upper limit of capability. As Xu Nan and Zheng Yan said, "the opportunity cost of the same thing or choice may be greater for high-ability individuals"(Xu N.& Zheng Y.2005). Only this has a decisive impact on the individual, rather than others' judgments, which lack sufficient influence. IV. Empirical Analysis of Democratic Space When the logic of the competitive exclusion principle enters the democratic space, different subjects with varying values and interests demand occupy similar ‘participation niches’. Resource competition and exclusion exist only to a limited degree, meaning subjects share and co-utilize democratic spaces within a set framework. To explore how this principle appears in democratic space and verify individual expressive boundaries using 11 material and non-material resource indicators, a specialized online survey was launched. It was distributed to different groups for voluntary completion, with no specific focus on region, group, education, or age (except for civil servants), and responses were randomly generated. The survey lasted four days, from 22:05 on November 20, 2025, to 22:14 on February 20, 2026. All data came from the Wenjuanxing platform. 4.1 Questionnaire Design and Distribution Conducting questionnaire surveys only within the territory of China has obvious limitations, and the objective reflection of the overall characteristics of the essence of democracy is somewhat affected, but this impact is not fundamental and will not affect the overall situation. Specifically, it can be summarized as follows: First, the sample is geographically singular and lacks representativeness. The practice mode of democracy is greatly influenced by regional history, culture and social system. Conducting questionnaires only in China cannot cover the democratic practice samples of different countries and different development stages, making it difficult to reflect the diversity of democratic forms. The conclusions drawn may have slight differences from the essence of global democracy. Second, the generalizability of the conclusions needs to be improved. The conclusions related to democracy drawn based on questionnaire surveys in a single region of China may not have high adaptability, but they are not completely inapplicable, and the degree of restriction on the application value of the research remains to be verified. Third, it is easy to produce cognitive biases. The questionnaire data in China may ignore the uniqueness and differences of democratic practices in other regions, making it impossible to grasp the overall laws of democratic development as a whole. Of course, the essence of world democracy is inherent, not an abstraction and induction of superficial phenomena. Superficially, it is easy to fall into "single regional cognition", but in essence, it does not affect the objectivity and rigor of the research conclusions. The questionnaire comprised 5 dimensions and 30 observation points (see Table 2), using a Likert scale [1=completely inconsistent, 2=not quite consistent, 3=neutral, 4=relatively consistent, 5=completely consistent] to measure individual subjective perceptions of democracy. Table 2: 5 Dimensions and 30 Observation Points of the Individual Democracy Perception and Behavior Questionnaire I. Spatial Structure Dimension (6 items) 1.1 I can independently determine the use of physical environments such as living and exclusive work areas. 1.2 In social circles such as family, workplace, or community, my opinions are often taken seriously and adopted by others. 1.3 I can freely modify my personal online account information and creative content, and control the interaction rules in the virtual realm. 1.4 Facing social scenarios I do not agree with, I can independently choose to exit or maintain an independent stance. 1.5 My physical space (such as residence, desk) is rarely occupied or interfered with by others without permission. 1.6 In online communication, I can independently decide whether to participate in discussions or respond to others, without being forced. II. Time Pivot Dimension (6 items) 2.1 Within a unit of time (such as a day/week), I have more time that can be independently arranged without interference from others. 2.2 When encountering matters involving myself, I can quickly make a democratic expression (such as proposing opinions or stating a stance). 2.3 I will reserve special time for participating in public discussions and maintaining my own reasonable rights. 2.4 Facing decision requests proposed by others, I have sufficient time to think before responding without being rushed. 2.5 In my time allocation priority, individual democratic demands (such as expressing true thoughts or participating in decision-making) account for a high proportion. 2.6 Even if work or life is busy, I can still find time to handle matters related to my own democratic rights. III. Resource Occupancy Dimension (6 items) 3.1 My personal income and disposable wealth are sufficient to support the costs (such as time and money) for maintaining democratic rights. 3.2 I possess the ability to clearly express opinions and logically argue viewpoints, making others understand my demands. 3.3 When I propose a democratic demand, there are friends, colleagues, or community members around me willing to support me. 3.4 The knowledge and skills I possess can help me more effectively participate in decision-making or express my own stance. 3.5 I am willing to invest part of my income or resources into the maintenance of individual democratic rights, which can expand my democratic expressive space. 3.6 My social network can provide help for the transmission of my democratic demands and problem-solving. IV. Boundary Demarcation Dimension (6 items) 12 4.1 For core matters such as personal consumption and career choice, I insist that they must be decided by myself. 4.2 I clearly know which matters can accept interference from others and which matters absolutely cannot be compromised. 4.3 Facing unreasonable interference from family or colleagues, I can clearly refuse and stick to my own decision-making boundary. 4.4 I will adjust my democratic boundary according to the object of interaction (such as family or strangers) and respond flexibly to different scenarios. 4.5 I rarely give up matters that I think "must be decided by myself" due to pressure from others (Reverse item). 4.6 I can clearly convey my decision-making boundary to others to avoid unnecessary interference. V. Political Resource Set Dimension (6 items) 5.1 When my democratic rights are damaged, I know the available complaint and rights protection channels and can successfully use them. 5.2 I possess a certain discourse power in the community or workplace and can influence some decision-making results. 5.3 I clearly understand the relevant basis (such as rules and common sense) of my own expressive rights and participation rights. 5.4 The organizations I participate in (such as communities and industry associations) can provide support for my democratic demands. 5.5 I can transmit my own demands to relevant decision-makers or influencers through reasonable channels. 5.6 My perception of my own democratic rights is clear enough that I will not give up my claims due to a lack of understanding. Among the 23 provinces, 4 municipalities, 5 autonomous regions, and 2 special administrative regions in the country, only Qinghai, Macau, and Hong Kong had no samples; all other 31 provinces and cities were included, though they were relatively concentrated in a few provinces and cities (work reasons being the primary cause), taking into account the representation of groups in different regions and with different participation identities. After cleaning the questionnaires, 302 valid questionnaires were obtained, providing empirical data support. 4.2 Multi-dimensional Overall Overview This investigation reveals that among the five dimensions of individual democracy perception, the Boundary Demarcation Dimension (3.72 points) performed best, while the Time Pivot Dimension (3.46 points) and the Political Resource Set Dimension (3.41 points) were relatively weak, showing a general characteristic of "strong boundary awareness, but practical resources to be supplemented." From the core findings, individuals have a strong sense of control over physical space autonomy (3.88 points) and decision-making power for core matters (above 3.7 points). But, there are obvious shortcomings in "proactive practices" such as opinion adoption (3.58 points), usage of rights protection channels, and time investment. Among different groups, respondents over 31 years old have a stronger perception of online autonomy; those with low-income groups (over 90%) and young groups face greater pressure in resource and time allocation. The deep-seated contradiction is reflected in: on the one hand, the public has a clear perception of the negative freedom of "not being interfered with"; on the other hand, the practice of positive freedom in "proactive participation" is insufficient, which is closely related to factors such as vague rights awareness, insufficient channel efficacy, high time and economic costs, and external pressure. This suggests that promoting individual democratic practice individuals. Through technological empowerment and mechanism innovation, strong boundary awareness can be transformed into effective democratic participation, deepening from "passive non-interference" to "proactive effective action." (1) The overall score of the Spatial Structure Dimension is at a medium-high level , with the average scores of all items ranging between 3.5 and 3.88. The overall average score is 3.68, indicating that domestic respondents perform well in autonomy and sense of control related to spatial structure, experiencing high satisfaction and control, reflecting their positive experience in environmental adaptation and individual initiative. (2) The overall performance of the Time Pivot Dimension is at a medium-high level, with the average scores of all items ranging between 3.38 and 3.6. The overall average score is 3.46, indicating that respondents' performance in generally at a medium-high level. Among the items, "being able to quickly make a democratic expression when encountering matters involving oneself" has the highest average score (3.6), showing that respondents' ability in this area is prominent; while "individual democratic demands account for a high proportion in my time allocation priority" has a relatively low average score (3.43) but still remains within the medium range. Other related item scores are also relatively balanced, further confirming the stability of the overall performance. Overall, respondents exhibit a consistent level of democratic expression and time allocation in the dimension, though there is still room for improvement in specific fields. (3) The overall score for the Resource Occupancy Dimension is at a medium level , with an average score of 3.51 points (out of 5). This value falls within the range of "neutral" to "relatively consistent." This result indicates that most respondents have a relatively neutral evaluation of their own situation regarding resource occupancy, showing neither a clear sense of resource scarcity nor a significant sense of advantage. Furthermore, this score reflects that the respondent group is generally at a medium level in terms of resource occupancy, possibly with certain basic guarantees, but there is still room for improvement in resource richness, disposability, or the comprehensive allocation of tangible and intangible resources. Overall, the score shows a balanced but yet-to-be-strengthened state of self-perception. (4) The overall Boundary Demarcation Awareness is at a medium-high level, with an average score of 3.72 (out of 5),that participants generally have some boundary awareness, and self-regulation ability. Among options, "relatively consistent" accounts for the highest proportion at 42.37%, and "completely consistent" accounts for 17.37%; together, they make up nearly 60%, further indicating that most people can perceive the existence of personal boundaries in psychological, behavioral, or emotional aspects and possess a certain degree of autonomous maintenance ability. Additionally, 23.16% of participants chose "neutral," reflecting that the perception of boundary issues for some remains in a vague or intermediate state; while "not quite consistent" and "completely inconsistent" account for 11.05% and 6.05%, respectively, showing that a small portion of the population still has an obvious lack of boundary awareness. This distribution indicates that although the overall level is positive, there are still perceptual differences and practical gaps, suggesting the need for further attention to individual differences and specific situational guidance in relevant education or intervention. (5) The Political Resource Set is overall at a medium-high level. The scores across the various dimensions of the political resource set are concentrated in the "neutral" and "relatively consistent" options, accounting for 78.29%. The average score is 3.41, which is at a medium-high level, indicating that the overall perception of political resources is relatively positive but still has room for improvement. Overall, the KMO value is 0.949, and Bartlett's test of sphericity is significant, indicating that the data are suitable for factor analysis. After rotation, the cumulative variance explained reaches 70.92%, and the commonalities of most items exceed 0.5, indicating ideal structural validity (see Table 3). Table3: Data Suitability Factors for 4 Basic Characteristics and 30 Observation Points Item Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 Factor 4 Factor 5 Factor 6 Commonality Your Age -0.00 -0.10 0.06 -0.08 0.68 -0.57 0.802 Your Highest Education 0.06 0.02 -0.01 0.00 0.17 0.85 0.751 Your Personal Monthly Income Level 0.06 -0.02 0.07 -0.03 0.83 0.24 0.752 Your Occupation Type 0.12 -0.03 0.02 -0.10 -0.73 -0.03 0.563 I can independently determine the use of physical environments, such as living space and work areas 0.49 0.32 0.10 0.46 0.21 0.15 0.632 In social circles such as family, workplace, or community, my opinions are often taken seriously or adopted by others 0.45 0.23 0.13 0.55 0.20 0.02 0.611 I can freely modify my personal online account information and creative content, and control the interaction rules in the virtual realm 0.09 0.19 0.21 0.76 -0.15 0.26 0.754 Facing social scenarios that I do not agree with, I can independently choose to exit or maintain an independent stance 0.32 0.20 0.20 0.71 0.02 -0.09 0.696 My physical space (such as residence, desk) is rarely occupied or interfered with by others without permission 0.19 0.08 0.42 0.67 -0.01 -0.04 0.670 In online communication, I can independently decide whether to participate in discussions or respond to others, without being forced 0.36 0.20 0.25 0.61 0.13 -0.20 0.656 Within a unit of time (such as a day/week), I have more time that can be independently arranged without interference from others 0.68 0.12 0.25 0.24 -0.07 0.10 0.618 When encountering matters involving myself, I can quickly make a democratic expression (such as proposing opinions or stating a stance) 0.67 0.24 0.35 0.29 -0.09 -0.21 0.775 I will reserve special time for participating in public discussions and maintaining my own reasonable rights 0.69 0.32 0.22 0.18 -0.04 -0.08 0.668 Facing decision requests proposed by others, I have sufficient time to think before responding without being rushed 0.64 0.29 0.34 0.17 -0.01 -0.05 0.636 In my time allocation priority, individual democratic demands (such as expressing true thoughts or participating in decision-making) account for a high proportion 0.74 0.29 0.26 0.18 -0.11 -0.02 0.745 Even if work or life is busy, I can still find time to handle matters related to my own democratic rights 0.72 0.34 0.30 0.15 -0.08 -0.06 0.764 My personal income and disposable wealth are sufficient to support the costs (such as time and money) for maintaining democratic rights 0.59 0.30 0.24 0.19 0.17 0.19 0.595 I possess the ability to clearly express opinions and logically argue viewpoints, making others understand my demands 0.45 0.24 0.45 0.40 0.04 0.17 0.651 When I propose a democratic demand, there are friends, colleagues, or community members around me willing to support me 0.54 0.26 0.42 0.34 -0.05 0.14 0.677 I possess the knowledge and skills to help me more effectively participate in decision-making or express my own stance 0.54 0.21 0.44 0.35 0.04 0.22 0.701 I am willing to invest part of my income or resources into the maintenance of individual democratic rights, which can expand my democratic expressive space 0.54 0.38 0.39 0.11 -0.01 0.26 0.670 My social network can provide help for the transmission of my democratic demands and problem-solving 0.54 0.50 0.29 0.18 0.06 0.20 0.707 For core matters such as personal consumption and career choice, I insist that they must be decided by myself 0.30 0.23 0.75 0.18 0.07 0.09 0.745 I clearly know which matters can accept interference from others and which matters absolutely cannot be compromised 0.28 0.28 0.77 0.22 0.04 -0.00 0.796 Facing unreasonable interference from family or colleagues, I can clearly refuse and stick to my own decision-making boundary 0.35 0.24 0.70 0.20 -0.01 -0.10 0.728 I will adjust my democratic boundary according to the object of interaction (such as family or strangers) and respond flexibly to different scenarios 0.29 0.26 0.75 0.28 0.04 0.06 0.795 I rarely give up matters that I think "must be decided by myself" due to pressure from others (Reverse item) 0.33 0.37 0.63 0.19 0.05 -0.09 0.694 I can clearly convey my decision-making boundary to others to avoid unnecessary interference 0.32 0.41 0.60 0.22 -0.00 -0.08 0.677 When my democratic rights are damaged, I know the available complaint and rights protection channels and can successfully use them 0.20 0.66 0.33 0.23 -0.04 -0.05 0.638 I possess a certain discourse power in the community or workplace and can influence some decision-making results 0.39 0.76 0.07 0.13 0.04 0.03 0.759 I clearly understand the relevant basis (such as rules and common sense) of my own expressive rights and participation rights 0.21 0.76 0.24 0.34 -0.02 0.05 0.798 The organizations I participate in (such as communities and industry associations) can provide support for my democratic demands 0.26 0.83 0.15 0.16 -0.03 0.05 0.815 I can transmit my own demands to relevant decision-makers through reasonable channels 0.30 0.81 0.23 0.17 0.02 0.06 0.829 My perception of my own democratic rights is clear enough that I will not give up my claims due to a lack of understanding 0.27 0.70 0.14 0.40 -0.04 -0.05 0.748 Eigenvalue (before rotation) 16.29 2.00 1.75 1.63 1.26 1.19 Variance explanation rate % (before rotation) 47.90% 5.88% 5.14% 4.79% 3.71% 3.50% Cumulative variance explanation rate % (before rotation) 47.90% 53.78% 58.92% 63.71% 67.42% 70.92% Eigenvalue (after rotation) 6.38 5.39 3.65 5.17 1.92 1.61 Variance explanation rate % (after rotation) 18.76% 15.86% 10.73% 15.20% 5.64% 4.73% Cumulative variance explanation rate % (after rotation) 18.76% 34.62% 60.55% 49.82% 66.20% 70.92% KMO Value 0.949 Bartlett Sphericity Value 7732.092 df 561.000 p-value All 30 observation points meet the qualified standard of "＞0.5"and most are at a high level, indicating that the extracted 6 factors can effectively explain the information in the items: ① High proportion of high-commonality items: the commonalities of 21 items are＞0.7(such as item 2=0.751, item 3=0.752, item 7=0.754, item 32=0.815, item 33=0.829), accounting for 58.3%, with item 1 having the highest commonality (0.802) and item 33 reaching 0.829, indicating that the information of these items is "highly covered" by the 6 factors without obvious information omission; ② Minimum commonality is up to standard: the item with the lowest commonality, item 4 (0.563), is still higher than 0.5, and only 1 item falls in the 0.5–0.6 range (item 4). No items have a commonality＜0.5, proving that the explanatory power of the factors for all items is qualified, and there is no need to delete items for model optimization. (6) The variance explained by the factors is good , with 6 factors covering more than 70% of the information. From the variance explained before and after rotation, the cumulative explanatory power of the 6 factors reaches 70.92%, which meets the effective standard of "cumulative variance explained rate＞60%." Moreover, the variance distribution of the factors after rotation is more balanced, avoiding "over-explanation" by a single factor: first, before rotation, the variance explained by factor 1 was as high as 47.90%, while the others were only 5%–3.5%, creating an issue where the "first factor over-dominates," which is unfavorable for distinguishing the independent roles of the factors; second, after rotation, the variance explained by the 6 factors is 18.76%, 15.86%, 15.20%, 10.73%, 5.64%, and 4.73%, respectively. Although differences still exist, there is no extreme imbalance, and the cumulative variance explained rate remains unchanged at 70.92%. This means that rotation optimized only the "information distribution" of the factors, without losing overall explanatory power, making it more favorable for subsequent analysis of the independent influence of each factor (such as comparing differences in the "democratic rights expression factor" and "time autonomy factor" across different groups). (7) The factor structure aligns with the research logic of "democratic space under the competitive exclusion principle", Combined with the core research theme, the above factor structure can be further associated with the core mechanism of "competitive exclusion," providing a direction for subsequent analysis: first, basic characteristic factors (Factors 5 and 6) are the premises for "competing for resources." Age, income, education, and occupation type ( Factors 5 and 6) can be regarded as "basic resources" for democratic participation. Resource differences may lead to competition for "participation ecological niches." For example, groups with high income (Factor 5 loading 0.83) and high education (Factor 6 loading 0.85) may possess more time and channels to participate in democratic activities, thereby gaining an advantage in competition and creating exclusion for groups with fewer resources; second, democratic participation ability factors (Factor 1, 2, 3, 4) are the manifestation of "competition results." Time autonomy (Factor 1), rights expression support (Factor 2), decision-making boundary perception (Factor 3), and spatial autonomy (Factor 4) can be regarded as "ability dimensions" of democratic participation. If an individual score low on these factors, they may be in an "excluded" position in the competition for democratic participation—subsequent analysis can combine "factor score means" to compare differences among individuals (at income and education levels) on these factors, verifying the existence of the "competitive exclusion principle." Table 4: Manifestation of Educational Attainment Levels Across Several Observation Points Item Mean Standard Deviation Your Highest Education In social circles such as family, workplace, or community, my opinions are often taken seriously or adopted by others I can freely modify personal online account information and creative content, and control interaction rules in the virtual realm My physical space (such as residence, desk) is rarely occupied or interfered with by others without permission In online communication, I can independently decide whether to participate in discussions or respond to others, without being forced Your Highest Education 5.04 1.09 1.00 0.05 0.16 -0.01 -0.05 p-value p<0.05 p<0.01 4.4 Individual multi-point comparison: problems and differences (1) The influence of educational differences on individual democratic boundary expression appears to show almost negligible difference on the surface . In public view, a highly educated, democratic, expressive space should exhibit significant "growth" or an "outward shift" in its boundary, yet analysis of a national sample indicates that this conclusion is unreliable. Relatively speaking, higher education is associated by a certain "enlargement" of the individual's democratic expressive social space, but it is not significant. According to statistics on 30 indicators, the average scores for high school/technical school education, junior college, bachelor's degree, and master's degree and above are 3.516, 3.484, 3.546, and 3.556, respectively. The gap between the highest and lowest is only 0.072 points. Among them, the junior college group is 0.032 points lower than that of the high school group. Although this gap can be called "minuscule," it is almost negligible at a group level and is regarded as having no substantive difference. Therefore, the "small score" difference can fully support the conclusion of "sufficient expressive space." However, the performance of individual indicators is not "very good," as evidenced by the small, non-significant correlation coefficients between education and "opinions being taken seriously" and "controlling virtual realm interaction rules" (see Table 4). (2) The impact of different occupations on individual democratic perception is relatively clear. Among the unemployed, 10 of the 30 observation points are below 3, with an average score of only 3.12, just above the "qualified" line. The average score for personnel working in foreign-funded enterprises reaches 3.82 (freelancers are close to it but have not reached that height). The gap between the two reaches 0.7 points, a difference of 14% (see Table 5). This is a statistically significant gap, large enough for individual democracy to manifest substantively—that is, individual expression across different occupations is constrained by occupational resources. Different occupations have distinct perceptions of democracy and distinct resource bundles, and the social space for individual democratic expression also varies. For example, the single-item score difference between unemployed persons and foreign-funded enterprise workers is as high as 1.85. On a 5-point full scale, this proportional relationship becomes a 37% difference (a simple quantitative comparison), which is an astonishing substantive gap. In reality, the two appear to have a "democratic pattern" worlds apart. This sense of impact from resource constraints is very obvious and convincing, but it is not the most significant factor affecting individual democratic expression; income level is the most obvious, though it is closely related to differences in occupation. Table 5: Subjective perception score comparison of individual democracy for different occupations in 30 observation points Unemployed SOE Individual Business Public Institution Private Enterprise Freelance Foreign-funded Enterprise 2.75 3.33 3.33 3.48 3.58 3.20 4.60 3.50 3.44 3.33 3.52 3.76 3.55 3.60 2.75 3.33 3.17 3.59 3.74 3.55 3.40 3.25 3.5 3.42 3.76 3.74 4.05 3.80 3.50 3.44 3.87 3.67 3.97 4.20 4.00 3.00 3.56 3.42 3.81 3.80 4.20 4.20 2.75 3.17 3.50 3.26 3.24 3.85 3.80 3.50 3.33 3.50 3.56 3.47 4.05 3.80 2.75 3.17 3.50 3.37 3.44 3.45 3.80 2.75 3.28 3.42 3.47 3.45 3.70 4.20 3.25 3.17 3.58 3.32 3.29 3.60 3.80 3.50 3.33 3.42 3.32 3.21 3.85 3.80 2.75 3.11 3.25 3.29 3.18 3.15 4.00 3.00 3.50 3.69 3.50 3.68 3.80 3.80 3.25 3.50 3.50 3.53 3.61 3.80 3.80 3.75 3.50 3.50 3.63 3.76 3.70 3.80 3.00 3.39 3.50 3.31 3.36 3.60 3.60 2.50 3.33 3.33 3.38 3.32 3.35 3.80 3.00 3.44 3.67 3.65 3.82 4.10 4.00 3.25 3.72 3.73 3.5 3.85 4.20 4.00 3.50 3.50 3.58 3.70 3.76 3.95 3.60 3.50 3.50 3.78 3.58 3.8 4.10 3.80 3.25 3.50 3.50 3.65 3.7 3.70 2.80 3.75 3.50 3.58 3.64 3.68 3.80 4.00 3.00 3.33 3.25 3.47 3.32 3.45 4.00 2.75 3.06 3.33 3.29 3.27 3.20 3.80 2.75 3.22 3.48 3.33 3.32 3.40 3.80 3.00 3.06 3.33 3.29 3.20 3.10 3.60 2.75 3.22 3.17 3.53 3.32 3.20 3.60 3.50 3.28 3.42 3.48 3.50 3.85 4.00 3.12 (Avg) 3.36 (Avg) 3.46 (Avg) 3.53 (Avg) 3.54 (Avg) 3.69 (Avg) 3.82 (Avg) (3) The impact of income levels on democratic expressive space is substantial . The most prominent resource for expressing individual democratic rights is financial support, and personal economic level and resource acquisition ability become the main measurement indicators; Chinese people (compared with Western developed countries, the inclination to express is more obvious and the numerical gap will be more significant) need to rely on social resources or personal connections in some scenarios. Given the "limited discourse power" of ordinary individuals, some lack self-perception, believing they are "insignificant" or that "it is not necessary" to exercise rights. Under the "endurance" of Confucian culture, worrying about being excluded due to disagreements, about affecting future development, or about ineffective demands due to non-standard operations, a low willingness to actively exercise rights will also affect data fluctuations. Even so, the average score difference between low-income and high-income earners reaches 0.61 points, but it is composed of 5 income segments (see Table 6) and presents a "lying flat" L shape. Among the 30 single-point scores, only 3 indicators are lower than 4 points, and the lowest reaches 3.8 points. This group is the highest income among all investigated groups, at least 3.76 times the per capita income of 95,749 RMB for Chinese people. Therefore, they show a strong sense of space and freedom in every expression. What is slightly surprising is that the subjective perception score for individual democratic expression among individuals with an income of 12,000–20,000 RMB is lower than that of individuals with an income of 8,000–12,000 RMB; others are within the normal range. The echelon of monthly income below 20,000 RMB forms a long, wide base. Above 20,000 RMB, especially reaching 30,000 RMB and above, it becomes the tower body, and their confidence in expressing their own democratic space clearly "becomes stronger." "A study by the National University of Singapore shows that earning a higher income makes people feel more satisfied, confident, and have more self-esteem." The results showed that as income increases, daily feelings improve, and overall life satisfaction increases. Those with an annual income of 80,000 USD or more possess more positive self-emotions (confidence, goodness, interest, and pride), while negative emotions (boredom, badness, sadness, unease) are significantly reduced(Yan Sh.2021), but no matter how it is explained, under other constant conditions, the individual democratic boundary of high-income earners "shifts outward" and the social space is "stretched large," which is the change brought by the dominant status of this resource in society. Table 6: Subjective perception score comparison of income height in 30 observation points Below 3k 3k–5k 5k–8k 8k–12k 12k–20k 20k–30k 30k–50k 3.28 3.16 3.46 3.76 3.58 4.25 4.60 3.52 3.39 3.46 3.64 3.79 4.50 4.60 3.82 3.41 3.51 3.69 3.53 3.25 4.20 3.73 3.57 3.65 3.73 3.79 3.75 4.40 3.82 3.88 3.89 3.96 3.47 4.00 4.20 3.63 3.68 3.69 3.87 3.63 4.00 4.20 3.46 3.32 3.10 3.26 3.21 3.50 4.40 3.71 3.55 3.50 3.51 3.42 3.75 4.20 3.41 3.34 3.44 3.30 3.21 3.75 4.20 3.49 3.45 3.5 3.54 3.37 3.75 4.00 3.51 3.29 3.39 3.33 3.16 3.75 4.00 3.47 2.89 3.36 3.36 3.26 3.75 4.00 3.15 3.06 3.29 3.44 3.00 4.00 4.00 3.67 3.52 3.69 3.79 3.74 4.25 4.20 3.67 3.54 3.53 3.61 3.74 4.25 4.20 3.63 3.46 3.62 3.74 3.84 4.25 4.20 3.43 3.21 3.36 3.50 3.63 4.00 3.80 3.42 3.09 3.42 3.39 3.58 4.00 4.40 3.56 3.61 3.61 3.90 3.74 3.75 4.00 3.73 3.71 3.74 3.87 3.79 4.25 4.40 3.65 3.71 3.69 3.69 3.74 3.75 4.00 3.70 3.61 3.71 3.73 3.79 4.00 4.20 3.56 3.61 3.64 3.54 3.53 3.75 4.20 3.65 3.61 3.69 3.60 3.58 3.75 4.20 3.52 3.3 3.44 3.43 3.21 4.00 3.80 3.39 3.11 3.26 3.23 3.53 3.75 4.00 3.54 3.25 3.33 3.49 3.32 3.75 4.40 3.44 3.11 3.31 3.20 3.11 3.50 3.80 3.58 3.2 3.31 3.37 3.63 4.00 4.20 3.63 3.46 3.40 3.49 3.58 4.25 4.20 3.56 3.40 3.50 3.57 3.52 3.91 4.17 However, under the competitive exclusion principle, individual democracy in this study was "remodeled", and the differences in subjective perception scores of individual democracy are "generally small." This may reflect the following possibilities: first, if the expressive space is narrow, when individuals are forced to cater to a certain attitude, "mean score polarization" may appear (such as all 5 points or all ①which was the case for respondents, but differences of 0.07 points and 0.032 points correspond to a "neutral or mild average attitude," more likely to be a consensus after individual independent judgment; ②due to the rationality of the issue itself and the consistency of group perception, the final mean only presents tiny fluctuations—this is the ideal state of "democratic expression": both protecting individual freedom and forming group consensus; ③the expressions of all individuals fall into a "similar attitude interval," indicating that there is no "hidden opposition" (such as not daring to express opposition, apparent convergence but internal resistance) caused by "unfree expression" within the group, nor is there "extreme division" caused by "excessive expressive space";④individuals can freely express different opinions, but expression differences will not trigger group opposition, nor will real attitudes be hidden due to fear of suppression—fitting the core demand of diverse and harmonious democratic expression; ⑤if the issue itself forms a broad social consensus, after individual free expression, it will naturally present a "centralized mean score" result, which is not narrow expressive space but strong consensus; sixth, there may be hidden factors of convergent expression, as those with 3 points or more account for at least 90%, due to human feelings, social relationships, as well as mentalities like "fear of trouble" and "conformity psychology," leading to unwillingness or hesitation to stick to claims, or in some aspects, democratic demand transmission is unsmooth or the response is slow or the effect is not obvious. V. Conclusion The results of this investigation show that respondents’ democratic perception across five dimensions of spatial structure, time pivot, resource occupancy, boundary demarcation, and political resource set is overall at a medium-high level, indicating that individuals in the current society already possess a certain level of autonomous awareness and action, a foundation for daily democratic practice. Based on these characteristics, high-income groups perform better in spatial autonomy and sense of control, but the direct correlation between education and social democratic perception is weak, and different occupations differ in income levels and democratic practice scenarios. These issues reflect the current reality of "knowing is easy, but doing is difficult" in democratic practice—although individuals possess a certain autonomous awareness and boundary perception, these are highly related to the resource constraint set of their country, which can explain why the surface individual democratic expressive "degree" and social space in developed countries are so large. However, the essence still needs to be decomposed from multiple levels before truly understanding and explaining what democracy, freedom, expression, and the size of social space are. Declarations Ethics Approval Statement This study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board of Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences (IRB-CQUAS-2025-042). All procedures were conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the committee and the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments. 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Southeast Academic Research,(1),120–127. https://doi.org/10.13658/j.cnki.sar.2016.01.015 (in Chinese) Long,X.G & Wang,J.H.(2025). The history of actors: Reflections on the theory of gradual institutional change. Journal of Guangxi Normal University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), 61(5), 41–51. https://doi.org/10.16088/j.issn.1001-6597.2025.05.005 (in Chinese) Wang,F.L.& Qi,Q.G.(2024).On the time cost of young teachers' professional growth. Journal of Chifeng University (Chinese Version of Philosophy, Philosophy and Social Sciences),(12),116–118. https://doi.org/10.13398/j.cnki.issn1673-2596.2024.12.026 Jiang,M.Y.& Zhang,R.W.(2021, August 7).The hidden cost of Tencent's "Xiaojietiao" convenience: Personal biometric information being quietly "breached" [Online source]. https://finance.sina.com.cn/chanjing/gsnews/2021-08-09/doc-ikqcfncc1429656.shtml Global Times. (2020, November 16). Hong Kong media reveals the mainland's formulation of a list of die-hard "Taiwan independence" elements [Online source]. https://www.163.com/dy/article/FRIAR5570514R9L4.html Wieser, F. v. (1982). Natural value (G. Q. Chen, Trans.). The Commercial Press,ISBN: 9787100011822 Xu, N., & Zheng, Y. (2005). The relationship between opportunity cost and personal ability. Special Zone Economy, (7), 318–319.(in Chinese) Yan, S. (2021, May 6). Higher income brings more satisfaction and self-confidence, but more money doesn't necessarily mean more happiness—the key to happiness lies in having pursuits [Newspaper article]. Health Times. https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20210506A06HVO00 Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9057806","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":606565427,"identity":"cf6763b5-2572-49fa-a936-b5d0f4d34f7a","order_by":0,"name":"JiJian Gu","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA2klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBADOTZm5oMPEipsiNdizM/elmzw4Ewa8VoSZ/acUZN82HaIsFL5iOw06YqaO4wbbuSwVSSwHWDgb+9OwKvF8EbuNskzx54xG9zIPXYjgecOg8SZsxvwa5kB1NLAdpjN4EZe2o0EiWcMBhK5xGj5d5jH4EaOWUGCwWHCWuQlgFoa2w5LSPacMWNISCBCiwHP282WjX2HDUCBLJFwII2HoF/k23M33mz4dri+DRiVH3/+s5Hjb+8lYMsBNAEevMrBtjQQVDIKRsEoGAUjHgAAIMhPHeRZYGkAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"JiJian","middleName":"","lastName":"Gu","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-07 10:54:45","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9057806/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9057806/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":104771339,"identity":"27b1239f-8b57-468a-822a-e9bba841c1eb","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-17 05:27:10","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2627649,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9057806/v1/a49ca09f-8052-4acb-bd74-91341051e09a.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"A Re-exploration of the Essence of Individual Democracy under the Competitive Exclusion Principle","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction ","content":"\u003cp\u003eIn biology, species with identical ecological niches cannot coexist over the long term. The reason lies in the finiteness of resources and the high degree of overlap in their needs, so that the less competitive species will eventually be excluded, eliminated, or undergo niche differentiation. However, the nature of human democracy is fundamentally different, even vastly distinct: democracy among ordinary citizens differs only in its forms of expression, but not in its essence. Yet in practice, it has returned to a state similar to that in the biological world, where competition revolves around resources, needs, and other factors.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDemocracy is divided into two categories: political democracy and folk democracy; the former is an institutional arrangement, while the latter is a subjective feeling. This bears a subtle similarity to the concepts in Cohen\u0026rsquo;s(1971) Democracy. is not identical, and certainly not Joseph Schumpeter\u0026rsquo;s definition of \u0026quot;individuals acquiring the power to decide by means of a competitive struggle for the people\u0026apos;s vote\u0026quot;(Joseph A.1999). Therefore,on the size of social space (rather than the connotations of power space and administrative space; see Sang Yucheng\u0026rsquo;s article, \u0026ldquo;\u003cem\u003eExpanding the Development Space of Whole-Process Democracy\u0026rdquo;\u003c/em\u003e). Comparisons between countries are essentially comparisons through colored glasses, always believing and accepting that individual democracy in slightly more developed foreign countries is invariably larger and better than that in China, hence yearning for and pursuing it. In this regard, I believe that the controversy over the essence of individual democracy lies in its representation: the size of the activity space between individuals has become a hot topic of comparison among the world\u0026apos;s populace. It is not to say that being able to speak unscrupulously or participate in demonstrations makes one more democratic; rather, whoever possesses a thicker resource bundle can enjoy a larger space for expression. When everyone chooses the results beneficial to themselves, in the eyes of Western scholars, \u0026quot;if competitive exclusion occurs under stable environmental conditions, and if two or more species depend on the same limited resources and have the same resource utilization patterns (i.e., complete niche overlap), they cannot coexist long-term, and ultimately the competition species with weaker competitive power will be excluded or become extinct\u0026quot;. This theoretical conclusion of \u0026quot;either dead or injured\u0026quot; is worth debating. While such a possibility exists in political democracy between nations, the US long-arm jurisdiction over the world often serves as a carrier for this, in the individual democracy of the masses, it is nothing more than the size of space and the expansion or compression of survival boundaries. It is not a life-or-death struggle, but rather a game process of balancing and sharing the democratic social space.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"I. Literature Overview of Theories on the Essence of Democracy ","content":"\u003cp\u003eCurrent research on democracy encompasses five major perspectives: Marxist democratic theory, liberal representative democratic theory, radical left critique, and socialist democratic theory. However, these studies almost exclusively focus on varying democratic performance. However, political systems are not the focus of this paper; theories such as Arrows Impossibility Theorem, Acemoglu and Robinsons \u0026quot;Narrow Corridor\u0026quot; theory on individual democratic space, Buchanan\u0026rsquo;s Public Choice, Murray Edelman\u0026rsquo;s (Dawson \u0026amp; Edelman, 1965) \u0026quot;Symbolic Politics, \u0026quot; In fact, his argument also links individual democracy with politics, and essentially argues for a system arrangement rather than how \u0026nbsp;resource sets constrain the extent and boundaries of individual democracy. Robert deliberative all without their research emphasis on democracy under institutional arrangements, which differs significantly from the scope and field of this paper. Although this study will involve a small number of institutional arrangements, they serve only as dependent variables. While there is a certain formal overlap with Habermas\u0026rsquo;s (Fitz-enz, 2000) Public Sphere theory, I cannot agree with his ideal degree of individual democracy where \u0026quot;citizens assume they can speak freely in this space without state interference,\u0026quot; because such a degree does not exist in the real world. The resource constraint set of individual democracy includes the limitation of free space under institutional constraints.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSome Western scholars have investigated the relationship between the economy and democracy from the perspectives of economic structure; when people discuss democracy with great joy, they each have their own tone and viewpoint. The author\u0026apos;s view on democracy is primarily divided into two categories: folk and official democracy. The essence of folk democracy is determined by subjective indicators such as the degree of freedom of speech, the size of living space, and the demarcation of behavioral boundaries between individuals. Whether individual democracy is \u0026quot;contrary to the Pareto principle\u0026quot; or if \u0026quot;economics taking the Pareto principle as a principle will harm individual democracy,\u0026quot; as Amartya Sen(Amartya Sen \u0026amp; James Foster, 2024) suggested, remains without a definitive answer. However, the author maintains that the economic welfare of the Pareto principle precisely broadens individual democracy, because within the spatial combination of individual democracy its boundary and thickness. Although this formally overlaps to some extent with Habermas\u0026rsquo;s (J\u0026uuml;rgen Habermas, 2025) Public Sphere theory, I cannot agree with his assumption that \u0026quot;citizens can speak freely in this space without state interference,\u0026quot; for such a degree of individual democracy does not exist in reality; the resource constraint set of individual democracy contains the limitation of free space under institutional constraints. On the contrary, Rawls\u0026rsquo;s \u0026quot;Pure Procedural Justice\u0026quot; theory suggests that the democratic process itself constitutes an ethical endorsement of the legitimacy of results; even under resource constraints (such as medical resource rationing), a transparent decision-making process can enhance social tolerance. This is not the fallacy of \u0026quot;ethical decay\u0026quot; in the democratic; voters are rational within the limits of individual democracy. If one discusses the degree of individual democracy using issues like American gun legalization, homosexuality, or drug use, they clearly exhibit liberal characteristics, namely, institutional dysfunction. \u0026quot;According to a 2014 Gallup poll, 44% of Americans believe their media is too liberal\u0026quot;(Zhang T.P,2016). Regarding the discussion of individual democracy, there are primarily the following perspectives:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1.1 Democracy influences various social fields\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDemocracy is the \u0026quot;face\u0026quot; of a person living in the world, penetrating every corner of society. Zhang Guanghui (2012) is the most typical representative, stating that \u0026quot;defects in the mode of economic growth stem from defects in the political system, manifesting microscopically as insufficient development of participatory democracy.\u0026quot; Yan Yu and Meng Tianguang (2022) elaborated their views on this issue from the interactive relationship between wealth distribution and democracy, though they provided a very macro research framework, including the macro nature of subjects and themes. (2014) Zhou Bibo (2014) worried that the essence of the debate between the left and right is an ideological trap, deviating from reasonable democratic forms. Massey (2005) argued that individuals learn democratic deliberation through interactions in local spaces as \u0026quot;places where difference meets\u0026quot; (such as community meetings and neighborhood discussions), emphasizing that individual identification with \u0026quot;local meaning\u0026quot; directly affects their intensity of democratic participation. In addition, scholars such as Luo Mingzhong et al. (2022), Zhang Jianhong and He Biqiong (2021), Xing Pengfei (2019), Li Lina (2017), and Wang Yan (2017) have expounded on the comprehensive influence and constraints of democracy on society from their respective perceptions and perspectives, much like Leipziger (2024), who explored the impact of democracy on racial inequality and analyzed the mechanism of democratic institutions in mitigating social inequality at the racial level, appearing quite distinctive.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1.2 Theory of democratic essence or structure\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis section explores what constitutes democracy and its internal meaning. Cohen\u0026rsquo;s (1971) \u0026quot;three conditions\u0026quot; theory is consistent with this paper. Furthermore, Xu Huidong and Wang Chunrong (2007) explored the essence of democracy under the title of \u0026quot;grassroots democracy\u0026quot; (Chen Zhong, 2023, referred to as ordinary individual democracy), which aligns with the scope of democratic carriers in this study, despite different terminology and significant differences in research details. Lou Chunjie posited that the middle class is a necessary but insufficient condition for achieving political democracy, which is highly worth in-depth discussion: why it is necessary but insufficient, and why it is not both necessary and sufficient. Ma Hairan and Zhao Guowei (2005) identified the realistic essence of democracy as the constitutional spirit, likely viewing the issue from the perspective of political institutional arrangements. Dong Chunyu and Wang Xiaojun expressed \u0026quot;rational ignorance\u0026quot; and the \u0026quot;logic of collective action,\u0026quot; where Friedberg and Rahat (2025) analyzed the essence of individual democratic equality among ordinary people, with the former also analyzing its potential risks. Liu Dongliang (2012) explicitly defined the essence of democracy as a political method and selection procedure.Manent (1982) identified the democratic essence of ordinary individuals as a mode of existence under a state of equality. His conclusion that it is a way of life is starkly different from institutional arrangements, yet closely resembles Tocqueville\u0026rsquo;s (1835, 1840) view of the individual democratic essence of the masses as \u0026quot;public participation driven by demands for equality,\u0026quot; much like Hannah Arendt\u0026rsquo;s (1958) democratic essence theory of \u0026quot;action in the public space\u0026quot;; diverse perspectives yield diverse conclusions, whether similar or contradictory.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1.3 Theory of democratic expression forms\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA considerable amount of research results focuses on the node of democratic expression forms. For instance, Rahat, et al. (2024) divided the individual democratic essence of ordinary people into two forms: \u0026quot;collective\u0026quot; and \u0026quot;individual.\u0026quot; Conversely, Jin Zhenhua argued that participatory democracy faces three major problems: uneven participation, inefficiency caused by broad participation, and the lack of institutionalized participation, which is clearly a form-based expression rather than an in-depth exploration of the essence, implementation forms, carrier paths, or institutional dependencies of democracy. However, Manent\u0026rsquo;s deep analysis of the essence of ordinary \u0026quot;democratic man\u0026quot; and the inherent paradoxes of democracy does this confirm a natural conflict between individual democracy and institutional democracy?\u0026nbsp;(Hu Xueping, 2011).\u0026quot; If democratic construction is confined solely to the level of institutions or procedures, ignoring mature individuals in democratic practice and public sphere construction, it will inevitably lead to a conflict between democratic institutions and the ideal of achieving democracy\u0026quot;. Henri Lefebvre (1991) argued that individual democratic behavior does not occur passively in a given space, but rather reconstructs the political attributes of space through daily practices (such as assemblies and petitions), which slightly differs from Michel de Certeaus (1984) emphasis on \u0026quot;individuals reconstructing power space through \u0026apos;daily practices,\u0026apos; transforming official \u0026apos;strategic space\u0026apos; into the \u0026apos;tactical space\u0026apos; of the people.\u0026quot;\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1.4 Digitalization influences the direction of democracy\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ethe Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg teams\u0026rsquo; (2025) research shows that the design logic of digital space profoundly impacts the quality and effectiveness of individual democratic participation. Individual democratic behavior in digital space exhibits significant characteristics of \u0026quot;concealment\u0026quot; and \u0026quot;stratification\u0026quot;; migrant groups are more inclined to express political demands on ethnic-exclusive social platforms . The MPG.PuRe think tank (2022) pointed out that the influence of digital media on individual democratic behavior presents a \u0026quot;double-edged sword\u0026quot; effect: on one hand, it improves the efficiency of information acquisition and the convenience of expression (such as petition signing via social media); on the other hand, it exacerbates the \u0026quot;echo chamber effect,\u0026quot; where individuals tend to reinforce existing views in homogenized digital spaces (Wang J.\u0026amp;\u0026nbsp;Li N.CH.2025). The team further explored the strategic pathways for the international communication of democracy, finding significant differences from traditional democratic communication models. Wang Longfei (2025) emphasized the characteristics of the Chinese model in digital democratic practice. Research by Du Qian and Zhu Xiaoguang (2025) and Zhou Wei (2022) both show that digital technology can empower democratic practice. Jin Longjun and Zhai Yi (2022) found that the digitalization process effectively promotes the level of rural democratic governance. Xiong Zhen and Xiao Wenjian (2008) used the South Korean electronic document management reform as a case study to analyze in depth the risks and hopes inherent in the digital democracy process.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1.5 Research on democracy from \u0026quot;unconventional\u0026quot; perspectives\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePatrick M. Jen (2025) integrated the theories of Lefebvre and de Certeau to propose a \u0026quot;physical-interaction-representation\u0026quot; public space model to analyze the spatial expression mechanisms of individual democratic behavior. The European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) (2025) found that the spatial distance between an individual\u0026apos;s constituency and the national capital significantly affects democratic satisfaction. Michael Hankinson (2020) specifically emphasized that the spatial scale of institutions directly shapes individual democratic preferences and behavior. However, Wang Yilin (2020), Lin Tai (2017), and Lyu Qin (2003) concluded that democracy cannot be applied indiscriminately, whereas Shao Shuai (2015) believed it can be.Zhou Bibo (2014) asserted that mass democracy and elite democracy should be harmoniously unified, consistent with Wang Ming\u0026rsquo;s (2022) claim that liberalism and democracy are complementary, yet in reality, the two are discordant and even opposing at times and in specific spaces. Curiously, Buck explored the essence of democratic preferences among ordinary individuals from the perspective of personality traits rather than directly studying the essence of democracy itself, yet unexpectedly touched upon a corner of democracy\u0026apos;s essence. \u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"II. The Five Hypotheses of This Study","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHypothesis 1:\u003c/strong\u003e Excessive focus on personal survival space. Ordinary people participate relatively passively in democratic institutions, focusing a large amount of energy on their own degree of freedom and the size of their democratic space, even when political democracy has expectations and requirements for them. The root cause is an over-focus on personal living conditions and free expression, leading to a lack of sensitivity, concern, and passion for overall social matters and the direction of democratic development. This weakens social democratic mechanisms while inadvertently and deliberately strengthening their own civic consciousness and individual democratic space. When the majority are immersed in the maintenance and pursuit of their own free democratic interests, the processes and results of collective free democracy easily become objects of comparison between political democratic entities and the starting point for mutual criticism, further resulting in comparisons of individual democracy in the open and contests in the dark.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHypothesis 2:\u003c/strong\u003e Individuals in the realm of individual democracy are rational. A key trait of Chinese people is a strong ability to understand, support, and implement democratic institutional arrangements in public space, characterized by high Rawlsian tolerance and rational compliance with collective democratic arrangements. However, once entering or involving the boundaries of individual democracy or approaching the edges of their own democratic freedom\u0026mdash;perhaps due to emotional swings, information asymmetry, or group effect interference\u0026mdash;ordinary people often exhibit impulsive, biased, or irrational instincts, thus becoming non-fully rational individuals. This, to some extent, confirms Zhang Yuyan\u0026rsquo;s discourse on individual rationality and the \u0026quot;institutional paradox\u0026quot;: \u0026quot;the result gradually deviates from the goal of efficient resource allocation and ultimately violates the individual\u0026apos;s original intention of pursuing maximum welfare\u0026quot; (Zhang Y.Y, 1993). This represents the \u0026quot;freedom paradox\u0026quot; between collective and individual democracy. Individual democracy in the Western world is even more false and lost; \u0026quot;hypocrisy is a \u0026apos;by-product\u0026apos; of Western liberal democracy, and the \u0026apos;ideological matrix\u0026apos; inherent in it makes hypocrisy established as unavoidable and even necessary\u0026quot;(Wu Guanjun, 2024). Clearly, deception in Western political democracy has led to \u0026quot;hypocrisy as an \u0026apos;ordinary vice\u0026apos; in Western liberal democratic societies, where citizens are accustomed to disappointment and being deceived\u0026quot;(Shklar, 1984). This leads to a partial loss or impairment of human rational behavior, which is likely to further exacerbate social conflict or affect individual perceptions of the rationality of democratic freedom when the boundaries between the collective and the individual clash.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHypothesis 3:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003ePreemptive thinking always prevails in individual space, emphasizing the individual\u0026apos;s tendency for immediate occupancy of free space or resource sets. The mental space created by the bandit-style transition from collective to individual democracy in the West is a free space of the \u0026quot;law of the jungle,\u0026quot; predicated on being stronger than the others. The exercise of their individual democracy involves forming their own discourse system an apparently beautiful display of individual democracy. \u0026nbsp;scholars like Judith Shklar, James March and Johan Olsen, Stephen Krasner, and Susanna Dowie have provided profound critiques and exposures of this. However, this precisely reveals the preemptive thinking of individuals regarding democratic freedom; while more evident and aggressive in the West, Chinese people are not immune to these shackles. They similarly face a strong desire to occupy resources for their own democratic freedom, constantly finding ways to expand their democratic free space, where this thinking prevails. \u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHypothesis 4:\u003c/strong\u003e Unintentional compliance with the conformity effect. The conformity effect frequently occurs in social settings, particularly prominent in the field of individual democracy. The snowballing behavior of Western protest columns is clearly visible, its essence stemming from their internal boundary identification with individual democracy. However, Chinese people share the same trait in this field, namely \u0026quot;changing one\u0026apos;s own behavior and attitudes to achieve consistency with others\u0026quot;(Cialdini \u0026amp; Goldstein, 2004). Compared to expressions in Western cultural contexts, Chinese conformity behavior is often more reserved and subtle. In a Chinese social environment emphasizing collectivism and harmonious coexistence, individuals are more inclined to adjust themselves in an unostentatious manner, achieving consistency through subtle emotional control, indirect verbal expression, or situational silence, rather than through behavior imitation or public statements.characteristics of conformity remain the same.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHypothesis 5:\u003c/strong\u003e Selective neglect of institutional arrangement constraints. Within this finite set, there are still many political the populace selectively ignores them, caring only about their own feelings. \u0026quot;When asked \u0026apos;What does democracy mean?\u0026apos;, the vast majority of ordinary citizens use positive words to describe democracy, such as being free and easy, a good life, equality and justice, etc.\u0026quot;(Chan, 2008). When the individual democratic space is damaged, or the expansion of one\u0026apos;s own democratic freedom space is blocked, having an appeal support is a sign of selective neglect of institutional arrangements.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Ⅲ. A New Perspective on the Essence of Democracy","content":"\u003cp\u003eDeconstructing the Resource Set of Individual Democratic Essence under the Competitive Exclusion Principle. The resource constraint set of individual democracy refers to the finite collection of socially disposable material resources (natural resources, capital, technology, human resources, infrastructure, information, and data, etc.) and non-material resources (time, institutional costs, cultural beliefs, freedom of speech and behavior, political VIP...status, etc.). All these resources possess \u0026quot;shared\u0026quot; and \u0026quot;universal\u0026quot; characteristics, without special regulations or VIP exclusivity. That is, in the public space of a political entity, all parties compete for the same resources, mutually excluding one another, and sometimes even engage in life-or-death struggles. Just as \u0026quot;two species with completely overlapping ecological niches cannot coexist for long; the weaker competitor will be pushed out by the dominant species, ultimately leading to local extinction or forced niche differentiation\u0026quot; (Gause, G. F, 1934).However, when applied to the study of democracy and freedom, the author only partially adopts the thinking of the competitive exclusion principle. Fundamentally, the competitive exclusion of democratic freedom is essentially a closed-loop structure of competition-exclusion-game-coopetition.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3.1\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMaterial resources are the most direct reaction carriers for individual democracy\u003c/strong\u003e. This constraint set includes at least six major parts, forming the foundational support points for the individual\u0026apos;s democratic survival space. Everyone uses, occupies, and utilizes these material resources. Nevertheless, there is a positive correlation between the size of the free space in individual democracies and the size of the free space in the overall democracy.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(1) Natural resources constitute the specificity of individual democracy.\u003c/strong\u003e They are the most unique resource elements\u0026mdash;water, climate, land, biology, minerals, and oceans belong to no one and are generally framed as state-owned public assets. Even in capitalist countries, state ownership is dominant, making them largely unrelated to individuals. Only a few developers or operators possess a high \u0026quot;utility attribute\u0026quot; of natural resources, which will inevitably inflate their individual democratic space to an extent unreachable by the public. However, this is limited to a very small group, and their influence on the general populace can be almost ignored. The vast majority simply share the spatial commonality of these resources. All other conditions being equal, one measures in \u0026quot;mutual crowding\u0026quot; whose power is greater or energy more sufficient to gain a slight upper hand, though substantive differences are minimal. \u0026quot;The spatial status of these two aspects stipulates fundamental conditions such as territory and population, providing a \u0026apos;natural background and stage scene\u0026apos; for democratic politics and its practice\u0026quot;(James \u0026amp; Martin,1989). These fall within the national political scope and overlap slightly with this concept. However, Preston James and Geoffrey Martin have not explicitly highlighted the impact and qualitative nature of natural resources\u0026apos; natural attributes on individual democracy. Conversely, the assertion by Wang Haiyu and Ai Kunpeng (2025) that \u0026quot;space constitutes the ontological basis for the existence of democratic politics and its practice, influencing and shaping each other\u0026quot; shifts to the institutional arrangement phase, which is not yet argued in this paper. While their conclusions are similar, the relevance to this topic is low. Among all literature, Ishii Takaharu\u0026apos;s conclusion states that \u0026quot;natural resources can be used to fund the consolidation of autocratic regimes and the promotion of false democracy; the higher the natural resource endowment, the more political funding politicians obtain from natural resources, introducing democratic political systems to gain political power through electoral fraud\u0026quot;(Takaharu, 2024). This statement indeed proves that the intake of natural resources can effectively expand the boundaries of individual democracy, but this is precisely a major malady in Western individual democracy: the ability to expand individual democratic space by seizing state-owned natural resources that should be \u0026quot;shared by everyone.\u0026quot; In the socialist governance structures of China and elsewhere, such \u0026quot;seizure\u0026quot; cannot achieve its goal, and Chinese democratic politics is not formed through desperate elections. Thus, the effect brought by the public nature of natural resources on individual democracy is natural, consistent, and balanced. \u0026quot;The will of the majority, human dignity and rights, public welfare, freedom, equality, order, and security are fundamental value pursuits contained within democracy\u0026quot;(Cialdini \u0026amp; Goldstein, 2004). It is indeed fitting.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(2) Infrastructure is an egalitarian carrier for measuring individual democracy.\u003c/strong\u003e The average occupancy of infrastructure is a key factor in measuring individual democratic space. However, due to significant differences between China and abroad\u0026mdash;particularly in Western capitalist countries where private sector ownership of infrastructure is substantial\u0026mdash;the US \u0026quot;landlord terminal\u0026quot; model exists where \u0026quot;ports act as bond issuers to bear debt, while terminal operators pay rent to the port authority and bear their own operating profits and losses\u0026quot;. As landlords, they inevitably hold immense discourse power in privately controlled infrastructure fields like ports, demonstrating their democratic space to be highly \u0026quot;spacious.\u0026quot; \u0026quot;Specific operations are carried out by private operators, who purchase loading and unloading machinery for operations like handling, storage, and logistics\u0026quot; (Zhang J.Y.2005). This aligns with the AIIB (AIIB,2026) forecast: \u0026quot;The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank stated in a recent report that as Asia recovers from the economic losses of the pandemic, privatization of infrastructure assets will be a major future trend\u0026quot;. However, China differs from the West; Chinese infrastructure is state-owned. Questions like \u0026quot;Why is China\u0026apos;s power grid controlled by state-owned enterprises when grids in developed countries are managed by private enterprises?\u0026quot; (Qi H.X.2025) highlights that China does not allow for private or individual capital participation in infrastructure. Chinese citizens enjoy equal space in individual democracy; no one has slightly more space than others. \u0026quot;Equality before the law is an indisputable consensus in modern public political discourse. However, defining the concept of legal equality theoretically presents many thorny disputes\u0026quot;(Ge S.Y.2023). Nevertheless, the author uses the concept of \u0026quot;equality for all\u0026quot; to argue that, in the expression of individual democracy within the enjoyment of infrastructure space, there is no so-called spatial scale; it is simply a shared resource. This confirms Yan Huiying\u0026rsquo;s(Yan.H.Y.2021) discourse and judgment that \u0026quot;opposition naturally ceases to exist\u0026quot;. \u0026nbsp;That is to say, infrastructure is an egalitarian measure of individual democracy; searching for this assertion on CNKI yields no references. Even when inputting it into Baidu AI for an intelligent answer, the result is \u0026quot;The content you entered may not be suitable for generation, please try different content.\u0026quot; (Gao H.B.2015)This precisely confirms the innovation of this study, aligning with Shen Yang and Liu Yuchao\u0026rsquo;s(2022) statement that \u0026quot;building a modern infrastructure system is more conducive to enhancing the people\u0026apos;s sense of gain, happiness, and security\u0026quot;.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(3) Capital naturally becomes a prominent subject of individual democracy.\u003c/strong\u003e Capital has always been a powerful and prominent \u0026quot;aristocrat\u0026quot; in society, performing \u0026quot;quite well\u0026quot; in every corner of social life across all times and regions. It frequently flaunts its prestige, with Western capital being particularly conspicuous. It exhibits three main behaviors\u0026mdash;one negative and two positives:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e① Capital influences the general public\u0026rsquo;s of democracy\u0026apos;s direction. This can be a positive incentive; scholars like Wang Xinsong have a deep understanding of this, believing that \u0026quot;social capital, characterized by trust, networks, and norms, is conducive to the operation of institutions and the construction of social order, enhancing individual and collective interests and creating greater social value during the distribution and integration of social resources\u0026quot;(Wang X.S.etal,2023). However, it can also act as a negative regulation, including the risk of alienation and endangering democratic health. Figures like Shen Boyang, Joshua Wong, and Nathan Law are largely influenced by capital in steering the malicious orientation of so-called democratic propaganda. Clues can be found in the reports by Wu Zijia (2025) and Shi Wei (2021); the risk of society\u0026rsquo;s alienation by capital is shocking. This includes both domestic and foreign capital behavior. Generally, Chinese domestic capital rarely interferes with democratic behavior, yet precautions remain necessary.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e② It can effectively stimulate democratic resilience, a function primarily dependent on social capital. This social capital differs functionally from corporate, financial, and private capital. \u0026quot;Shared aspiration\u0026quot; characterizes social capital as a temporary combination or a kind of \u0026quot;conscience capital,\u0026quot; rather than \u0026quot;capital\u0026quot; in the traditional sense. It is a \u0026quot;net-weaving capital\u0026quot; of the \u0026quot;envying the fish at the edge of the pool\u0026quot; type, so its functionality generally leans toward positive capital. Its goal is to solve problems or fill gaps in democratic life. \u0026quot;Self-governance theory describes a group of individuals with ample social capital, strong democratic awareness, and autonomous capability achieving consistency between individual and collective rationality through appropriate institutional arrangements\u0026quot;(Sun W, 2011). This is essentially an innovative embodiment of that function. However, some worrisome ailments have emerged, such as \u0026quot;under the influence of Chinese traditional culture, individuals exhibit excessive dependence and lack independent character, preventing the full development of individuality\u0026quot;(Xu D.T.1998). Yet, there is no need for excessive concern. Similar to the American \u0026quot;associational tradition\u0026quot; observed by Tocqueville or the \u0026quot;Democratic Consultative Meetings\u0026quot; in Wenling, Zhejiang, the primary role is to accelerate the repair, growth, and innovation of social order, supporting the further development of democratic resilience.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFurthermore, ③enhancing individual democratic efficacy, which refers to the positive growth and development of personal democratic freedom. Robert Putnam\u0026rsquo;s (Robert D. Putnam, 2015) research on Italy that in northern Italy, where abundant social capital promoted civil associations active among the people. Martin Wolf(Wolf M.2019) is deeply concerned that capital has led to a regressive democratic system, thus questioning \u0026quot;Why manipulated capitalism is destroying liberal democracy.\u0026quot; Meanwhile, Chinese scholar Lin Yi raised related doubts about \u0026quot;intentionally covering up or embellishing the responsibility of liberal democracy and Western nations in creating a \u0026apos;democratization crisis\u0026apos;\u0026quot;(Lin Y.\u0026amp; Wang Q.CH.2025). However, the positive effects are primary and cannot be ignored, mainly manifesting in enhancing individual democratic experience and \u0026quot;self-perception,\u0026quot; and active participation in folk democratic activities. Individual democratic efficacy is the sense of experience in one\u0026apos;s own democratic space, whether this subjective feeling is satisfied or the degree of psychological acceptance. The research perspective of scholars like Han Xiping is quite intriguing: \u0026quot;The struggle of ideas is a form of the struggle for discourse power; behind ideas lies a complete set of value evaluation systems that determine the quality of a specific behavior. The core of the struggle over ideas is the competition over value-evaluation systems. The core of a specific value evaluation system\u0026apos;s construction and operation lies in the subject that serves as the starting and ending points for the calculation of interest. In history, the concept of democracy has gone through stages where either the group or the individual served as the starting and ending point for interest calculation, which is why the same behavior can form vastly different value evaluations under the democratic concept\u0026quot;(Han X.P. \u0026amp;Wang X.B.2020). That is, individual democracy is a subjective feeling and the key to individual democracy.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(4) Technology can influence the spatial transition of individual democracy.\u003c/strong\u003e In any era or regional society, the impact of technology on the spatial transition of individual democracy is immense and can be felt intuitively and subjectively. \u0026quot;Social media self-expression practices can point toward an individualization state with more intersubjective meaning\u0026quot;(Zhang R.CH. \u0026amp; Lu K.l.2025). However, \u0026quot;individualization in China includes both the pursuit of material life, job security, and personal freedom in the first modernity, and the requirement to respond to risks and uncertainties through individual autonomous practice in the second modernity\u0026quot;(Yan,Y.X.2008). Taking smartphones as an example, for individuals who cannot or refuse to keep up with the times, their space in fields like payments, photography, social networking, navigation, internet surfing, gaming, and interaction clearly \u0026quot;shrinks\u0026quot; and withers, despite no change in other conditions. This \u0026quot;crowded out\u0026quot; and \u0026quot;compressed\u0026quot; space is naturally shared by mutually exclusive competitors who share the same democratic space, inadvertently increasing the individual democratic space of another group. Liu Qingyou, in his 1999 article titled \u0026ldquo;Relying on Technological Innovation to Open up Survival Space,\u0026rdquo; explicitly described the relationship between human group survival space and technological innovation. his research focused on the survival and development of enterprises. Michael Papays (2014) \u0026quot;A technology-driven direct democracy capable of deep insight into voters\u0026apos; true thoughts\u0026quot; only the relationship between administrative democracy and technology, rather than the inflation or compression of individual democratic space. Technology here refers to the additional or \u0026quot;growth\u0026quot; income brought by an individual\u0026apos;s specialized skill, representing a social space expansion relative to \u0026quot;peers\u0026quot; of that technology. \u0026quot;While contemporary democratic innovations, such as deliberative forums and participatory budgeting, have shown promise in improving civic engagement and reducing polarization, they often fail to address deeper socioeconomic inequalities that undermine democratic legitimacy\u0026quot;(Vlahos,2025).\u0026quot;it can be concluded that the political involvement of the younger generation has undergone a significant transformation along with the development of digital technology and social media platforms. In this elaboration, the main findings of each study will be described in more depth to understand how \u0026nbsp;digital technology is the main means of encouraging young people\u0026apos;s political participation in the modern era.\u0026quot; (Naharuddin, A etal.2025)can actually be either the compression of individual democratic social space by political systems or a result of competition between individual citizens for other reasons. Of course, this includes changes to the social democratic space by technology, which objectively exists.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(5) Human resource reform becomes a wedge for individual democratic expansion\u003c/strong\u003e. If the social space of individual democracy is to expand to a certain \u0026quot;realm\u0026quot; and satisfy the \u0026quot;height\u0026quot; of individual democratic expression when other conditions cannot be changed, one must awaken from the aspect of their own human resources to realize the expansion and extension of individual democratic free space to a considerable degree.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e① This must be resolved in at least the following two areas: First, Certain human resource systems restrict human resource mobility, development, and breakthrough to some extent. Normally, any political entity imposes certain limits and constraints on human resources without exception, merely manifesting as different entities having different degrees of constraint. \u0026quot;The pre-Qin period formed the initial framework of \u0026apos;census and corv\u0026eacute;e; the Qin and Han established the mature form of \u0026apos;status solidification and tight control\u0026apos; through codification; the Wei, Jin, to Song and Yuan showed the variant characteristics of \u0026apos;aristocratic privilege and ethnic stratification; the Ming and Qing completed the cycle of dual registration and system collapse; and since modern times, there has been a gradual transition toward \u0026apos;status equality and service orientation\u0026apos;\u0026quot;(Liu Zh.Sh.2025) . Western societies face the same issue, even more complex than China\u0026apos;s. First, for immigrants, \u0026quot;besides difficulties in language, life adaptation, and rebuilding social networks, they are often refused various social rights enjoyed by citizens of the host country because they lack citizenship\u0026quot;(Jie D.Zh.2009). Second, for native residents, \u0026quot;civil rights made great strides in the 18th century, the development of political rights occupied the entire 19th and extended to the early 20th century, and social rights were only gradually recognized in the 20th century\u0026quot;(Marshall, 1976). Even now, \u0026quot;this mobility is placed under normative full-time panoramic surveillance to identify and filter which can be exchanged and circulated and which cannot, to prevent danger rather than simply obstructing flow through isolation and restriction\u0026quot;(Huang G.2020). Therefore, once mobility restrictions are partially or fully lifted, the human resource breakthrough will naturally expand individual democratic free space, pushing boundaries outward and forming new wedges for a new spatial framework.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e② Reform of comprehensive human resource capability significantly expands personal democratic space. Under equal conditions, if breakthroughs in mobility restrictions and other institutional barriers cannot be achieved, changing one\u0026apos;s own comprehensive ability and literacy is indeed an essential and rare path. When an individual elevates their comprehensive capability beyond \u0026quot;peer individuals\u0026quot;(Zhao M.Ch.2020),\u0026quot; at this point, every part of every person potentially has attributes that transcend other parts due to differences in the degree of self-identification. The return of discourse power and individual value is the reconstruction of the \u0026apos;primary identity\u0026apos; within the pluralistic self, using self-actualization as a path, the progress of individual return, and the reconstruction of discourse power from the few to the universal individual\u0026quot;. Only when an individual can break through themselves and change the original comprehensive capability ecology can they qualitatively and fully expand their personal survival space. Put differently, shifts in an individual\u0026rsquo;s comprehensive human resource capabilities constitute the ideal moment for adjustments to their democratic space. As Kang Hongmei and Xiao Xuemei stated(Kang H.M.\u0026amp; Xiao X.M.2025), Li Weichao and Wang Wei(Li W.Ch.\u0026amp; Wang W.2019).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(6) Information and data highlight the elite characteristics of individual democracy.\u003c/strong\u003e Within the effective components of individual democratic material resources, information and data capabilities possess exclusive features\u0026mdash;representing exclusivity in both technology and capability. This belongs to complex characteristics and \u0026quot;high-end, precision, and advanced\u0026quot; traits. Once an individual possesses this type of resource attribute, their elite connotation naturally becomes apparent. Li M.Y(2021), in his article \u003cem\u003eStrategies for Leaders to Cope with the Monopoly of Technology and Capability by Elite Subordinates\u003c/em\u003e, deeply studied how \u0026quot;the monopoly of technology and capability by elite subordinates mainly manifests in building technology and capability barriers, setting technology and capability locks, and creating technology and capability alliances, which can bring harms such as weakening leadership authority, obstructing work progress, deteriorating the organizational ecology, and weakening innovation capability\u0026quot;. From another perspective, this indicates that these elite individuals can naturally expand the upper limit of their own democratic space. For example, the monthly salary of data analysts recruited on 51job ranges from 6,000 RMB in Chongqing to 22,000 RMB in Kunshan, with only a bachelor\u0026apos;s degree required. features in this field are prominent, contrasting sharply with non-elite talent in other industries, such as e-commerce customer service (3,500-6,000 RMB). Their democratic expressions in social space are bound to differ. I appreciate Ms. Lin Pan\u0026rsquo;s research conclusion: \u0026quot;Whether technical personnel can \u0026apos;live off their skills\u0026apos;\u0026mdash;attaining high socio-economic status or upward mobility through professional capability\u0026mdash;shows phased differences in state-owned enterprises in New China\u0026quot;(Lin P.2018). At that time, technicians and information/data specialists shared common origins as elite representatives of individual democracy. Regardless of time or place, they find themselves in a similar scenario: \u0026quot;The French high-end talent gathering strategy, starting with the establishment of the \u003cem\u003egrandes \u0026eacute;coles\u003c/em\u003e system in the 19th century, gradually formed a personal development path over two hundred years: technical elite \u0026rarr; top \u003cem\u003egrandes \u0026eacute;coles\u003c/em\u003e \u0026rarr; state corps \u0026rarr; administrative/technical basic positions \u0026rarr; ministerial cabinets \u0026rarr; politicians/senior civil servants/public enterprise managers\u0026quot;(Yu Y.D.\u0026amp; Chen Y.2013), which confirms this judgment.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3.2 Non-material resources drive the spatial position movement of individual democratic boundaries\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf natural resource categories are considered hard constraints on individual democracy, then non-material resource constraints constitute the soft power that drives the displacement of individual democratic space, comprising the following five aspects.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(1) Time precipitates the channels and structures of individual democracy.\u003c/strong\u003e Regardless of field or level, individuals will surely change their channels and structures.Huang Yanhong\u0026rsquo;s judgment that \u0026quot;the temporalization of the concept of democracy means that the past, present, and future are integrated into a movement toward equality, thus granting history a temporal standard\u0026quot; fully expresses the positive role of time\u0026apos;s precipitation. Specifically, \u0026quot;In Tocqueville\u0026rsquo;s discourse, democracy and aristocracy form a dynamic pair of opposing concepts; democracy becomes the arrow of time guiding history, weakening aristocracy over time and pushing equality to new heights\u0026quot;(Huang Y.H.2019). Within the social elite (excluding political figures as defined in Ban Jie\u0026rsquo;s (2005) thesis), older individuals possess greater seniority. and can be seen as masters or celebrities, derived from long-accumulated experience, rationality, and contribution. This yields greater respect and awe, deeply changing the channels and structures of individual democratic boundaries. \u0026quot;Western modern states claim to have created the \u0026apos;model\u0026apos; of liberal democracy, but it has degenerated into elite democracy, replacing direct democracy, using formal democracy to mask substantive democracy, greatly devaluing democratic worth. China\u0026apos;s democratic development, guided by the state, has carved out a new path of whole-process people\u0026apos;s democracy, showing immense advantages in creating organic connections among the people\u0026quot;(Chen Y.2022). This statement clearly shows the differences in democratic acquisition between East and West. The US is a typical representative of \u0026quot;voter democracy\u0026quot;(Tong D.Zh.2024), focusing more on voters than the people. Over time, history accumulates to create diverse channels and solid structures for individual democracy\u0026mdash;channels such as legal frameworks and individual rights. As the information age matures, nations increasingly value individual democracy driven by time, turning figures with high prestige among the populace into significant representatives of it.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(2) Cultural beliefs lock the growth path of individual democracy.\u003c/strong\u003e The extent of cultural beliefs\u0026apos; influence on an individual exceeds imagination, sometimes reaching a level of obstinacy unto death. Classics like \u0026quot;If a man hears the Tao in the morning, he may die in the evening without regret\u0026quot; (\u003cem\u003eAnalects\u003c/em\u003e), \u0026quot;To be above the power of riches and honors to make dissipated, of poverty and mean condition to make swerve from principle, and of power and force to make bend: these characteristics constitute the great man\u0026quot; (\u003cem\u003eMencius\u003c/em\u003e), \u0026quot;Better to be a piece of broken jade than a whole tile\u0026quot; (\u003cem\u003eBook of Northern Qi\u003c/em\u003e), \u0026quot;The scholar dies for fame, the greedy man for wealth, the martyr for integrity\u0026quot; (\u003cem\u003eZhuangzi\u003c/em\u003e) \u0026quot;His body may be killed, but his will cannot be seized\u0026quot; (\u003cem\u003eSchool Sayings of Confucius\u003c/em\u003e) and other classic cultural contexts of steadfast faith easily lead to path locking, creating a profound sense of coercion for individual democratic claims. Western cultural beliefs share similar steadfast adherence: \u0026quot;We must obey God rather than men\u0026quot; (\u003cem\u003eActs\u003c/em\u003e), \u0026quot;Let the wild beasts pounce on me, if only I may reach Jesus Christ\u0026quot; (\u003cem\u003eRomans\u003c/em\u003e), the French director\u0026apos;s \u0026quot;Man lives for some kind of faith,\u0026quot; and \u0026quot;To endure the flame for a moment for justice is better than enduring eternal fire\u0026quot; (\u003cem\u003eTo Diognetus\u003c/em\u003e) are analogous to Chinese cultural beliefs (anchoring)(Denzau \u0026amp; North, 1994). That is, cultural faith in any society is the \u0026quot;highest value of justice judgment\u0026quot; for individual democracy, the most worthwhile democratic realm. Yet it easily locks into a state: \u0026quot;Once a concept or institution is formed, it continuously generates new settings that support and motivate each other. Through such positive feedback, it reinforces and solidifies itself. Once dependency forms, it anchors to existing models, making it hard to escape or innovate\u0026quot;. This results in path dependency or locking into a state, yielding either incomparable benefits or unexpected losses. This judgment differs from that of Arthur T. Denzau and Douglass C. North. Using the papal election after Francis as an example: \u0026quot;Nominate 10 bishops, then vote to select the top three, then hold multiple rounds until one receives a two-thirds majority\u0026quot; (Anonymous,2025). Entering the 10 nominees locks the individual within a range in this cultural faith path, granting extraordinary potential benefits, with winning being a \u0026quot;supreme windfall\u0026quot; of becoming Pope. This is where cultural faith path locking or dependency differs from economic institutional locking. Therefore, whether the growth path of individual democracy in cultural faith is locked or innovated has no substantive correlation, nor is there substantive evidence of damage; opportunities and challenges coexist, requiring specific analysis of the environment.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(3)\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eFreedom of speech and behavior directly reflects the spatial boundaries of individual democracy.\u003c/strong\u003e The standard for measuring freedom of speech is not individual expression at will, but individual demand to a certain degree. \u0026quot;A considerable number of scholars, officials, and state-owned enterprise leaders currently lack theoretical confidence and thus institutional confidence, resulting in saying one thing while meaning another, duplicity, and split personality any so-called \u0026apos;reform\u0026apos; that breaks the institutional bottom line is not reform, but \u0026apos;color revolution\u0026apos; \u0026quot;(Yu Y.H.2024).Thus, \u0026quot;our current speech regulation system cannot well clarify the boundary between speech regulation and the protection of freedom of speech, potentially conflicting with civil speech freedom protection during the regulation process\u0026quot;(Zheng W.L.2022). This requires individual democracy to have clear spatial boundaries within its own resource constraint set when expressing opinions. A comparison of speech freedom between citizens of Country A and those of Country B shows that the democratic expressive space of Country A\u0026rsquo;s individuals is much larger, because the average resource constraint set of Country B is far lower than that of Country A (see table 1). Even if certain aspects appear superior, under fixed resource-constraint conditions\u0026mdash;combined with the caste system and the discriminatory female culture on the other side\u0026mdash;the resource imbalances create a large gap in the sense of boundaries within the democratic social space of citizens in the two countries. This requires that \u0026quot;individuals, when facing modern risks in autonomous decision-making practices, must possess the belief and ethics to balance personal development and altruistic obligations to achieve self-reconnection\u0026quot;(Li R.R.2014; Yang J.2023). People like Yang XX, who breathed \u0026quot;sweet American air,\u0026quot; lost themselves in democratic expression, transition, balance, and reconnection; expression without boundaries led to a dark future. Even in the US, many restrictions exist: \u0026quot;Although the First Amendment protects \u0026apos;freedom of speech,\u0026apos; the US still has many legal restrictions. On the premise of content neutrality, the government can reasonably restrict the time, place, and manner of speech. Based on US history and tradition, the government can also impose content restrictions on several special categories, including incitement to immediate crime, obscenity, fighting words, and defamation, but speech containing only false information does not alone constitute a special category\u0026quot;(Zhang Y.2020). \u0026nbsp;Even in a seemingly free America, ordinary citizens have little room for expression or freedom before figures like \u0026quot;1-Trump,\u0026quot; not to mention tragedies where individuals might be shot even while complying with police orders. Undoubtedly, worldwide, freedom of speech and behavior directly reflects the spatial boundaries of individual democracy, all expressed within a constrained space and not unscrupulously.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTable1: Quantitative Comparison of Core Indicators in 8 Dimensions\u003c/strong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\"\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 73px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eDimension\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIndicator\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCountry A\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 70px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCountry B\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 285px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eData Sources and Literature Citations\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"2\" style=\"width: 73px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNatural resources\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePer capita water resources\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2129.9 cubic meters\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 70px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1513 cubic meters\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 285px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eToutiao：\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ehttp://m.toutiao.com/group/7174340737411383846/\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCountry A Water Resources Bulletin：https://data.stats.gov.cn/easyquery.htm?cn=A01\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCWC：\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ehttps://cwc.gov.in/\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eper capita forest area\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.5 hectares per thousand people\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 70px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.52 hectares per thousand people\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 285px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eFAO：\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ehttps://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/GF\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" style=\"width: 73px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eInfrastructure\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eper capita railway mileage\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e11 kilometers per 10,000 people\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 70px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.7 kilometers per 10,000 people\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 285px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eToutiao：\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ehttp://m.toutiao.com/group/7599536245454242338/\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMOT：\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ehttps://data.stats.gov.cn/easyquery.htm?cn=A01\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;Ministry of Railways of Country B：\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ehttps://indianrailways.gov.in/\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePer capita power generation\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e7163 kilowatt-hours\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 70px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1050-1500 kilowatt-hours\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 285px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIEA：\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ehttps://www.iea.org/countries/Country A\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e5G Base Station Density\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e34.4 seats per 10,000 people\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 70px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e12.98 seats per 10,000 people\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 285px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eXinhua News Agency：\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ehttp://big5.www.gov.cn/gate/big5/www.gov.cn/lianbo/202601/content_7056423.htm\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eBaidu：\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ehttps://mr.baidu.com/r/1QSrOhlT9Ti?f=cp\u0026amp;rs=2637663915\u0026amp;ruk=VpsUBeVC2WAcEFjZ8GlK4A\u0026amp;u=ebd88d37fe3a354c\u0026amp;urlext=%7B%22cuid%22%3A%22luHku0ixv8_AuHt3gu-3agafH8_da2iG08Sei0urv8Kr0qqSB%22%7D\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMIIT：\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ehttps://www.miit.gov.cn/gxsj/tjfx/txy/\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eDoT：\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTRAIhttps://www.trai.gov.in/\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"2\" style=\"width: 73px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCapital\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePer Capita Nominal GDP\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e$13303\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 70px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e$2697\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 285px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eWorld Bank：https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?locations=CN\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePer capita residential deposit\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e$15180\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 70px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e$1240\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 285px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePBOC：\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ehttps://data.stats.gov.cn/easyquery.htm?cn=A01\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eRBI：RBIhttps://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/AnnualPublications.aspx?head=Handbook%20of%20Statistics\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"2\" style=\"width: 73px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTechnology\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eR\u0026amp;D investment as a percentage of GDP\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.5%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 70px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.2%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 285px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eWorld Bank：https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/GB.XPD.RSDV.GD.ZS?locations=CN\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePatents per capita\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e12.9 items per 10,000 people\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 70px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.8 items per 10,000 people\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 285px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eWIPO：\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ehttps://www.wipo.int/ipstats/en/\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" style=\"width: 73px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eHuman Resources\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAdult literacy rate\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e97.3%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 70px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e80.9%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 285px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eWorld Bank：\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ehttps://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.ADT.LITR.ZS?locations=CN\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eLabor Force Participation Rate\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e66.4%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 70px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e40.8%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 285px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eILO：\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ehttps://ilostat.ilo.org/data/\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eFemale Labor Participation Rate\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e70%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 70px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e22.5%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 285px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eILO：\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ehttps://ilostat.ilo.org/data/\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 73px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eInformation data\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eInternet penetration rate\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e79.7%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 70px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e55.3%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 285px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eDATAREPORTAL：\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ehttps://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2025-Country B?utm_source=podnews.net\u0026amp;utm_medium=web\u0026amp;utm_campaign=podnews.net%3A2025-10-20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eReform Daily Online：\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ehttp://www.cfgw.net.cn/m/xb/content/2025-07/21/content_25140820.html\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCNNIC：\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ehttps://www.cnnic.net.cn/\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCountry BTelecommunications Administration Bureau\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTRAI / ITU：\u003cbr\u003e\u0026nbsp;https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/stat/default.aspx\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"2\" style=\"width: 73px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTime freedom\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAnnual average working hours\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2120 hours\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 70px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2350 hours\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 285px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eILO\u0026nbsp;：\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ehttps://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=ANHRS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAverage commuting time\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e38 minutes per day\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 70px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e52 minutes per day\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 285px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCountry A Urban Commuting Monitoring Report/ Baidu Maps：\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ehttps://huiyan.baidu.com/reports/\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCountry B National Sample Survey Organization\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNSSO：http://mospi.nic.in/national-sample-survey-office-nsso\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"2\" style=\"width: 73px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSocial space\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIndex of Women\u0026apos;s Social Status\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e（1-10）\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e7.2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 70px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 285px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eGII/ UNDP：\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ehttps://wbl.worldbank.org/\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eInstitutional Cost (Enterprise Compliance Time Consumption)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e87 hours per year\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 70px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e214 hours per year\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 285px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eDoing Business Report, the World Bank：https://www.doingbusiness.org/en/data/doing-business-score\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNote: This data table is organized and generated by DouPo, and verified by Zhao Kai Xin, Zhao Xue Yu, and Jia Peng Yi.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(4) The level of \u0026quot;social status\u0026quot; affects the \u0026quot;length\u0026quot; and \u0026quot;width\u0026quot; of individual democracy.\u003c/strong\u003e Political status here specifically excludes public officials within the state administrative system, Wall Street financial groups, and groups with deep political-business connections, referring exclusively to the \u0026quot;masses\u0026quot; or \u0026quot;commoners.\u0026quot; There are cases or specific periods where the political status of these groups also differs, such as the Miao \u0026quot;Zhai Lao,\u0026quot; Yi \u0026quot;De Gu,\u0026quot; Tibetan \u0026quot;Khenpo,\u0026quot; Dai \u0026quot;Bo Zhang,\u0026quot; Naxi \u0026quot;Dongba,\u0026quot; Wa \u0026quot;Touren,\u0026quot; Jingpo \u0026quot;Shanguan,\u0026quot; Hani \u0026quot;Migu,\u0026quot; Kazakh \u0026quot;Awule,\u0026quot; Kenyan Maasai chiefs, South African Zulu chiefs, Nigerian Yoruba chiefs, Ethiopian Oromo elders, Southern African Sangoma, American Navajo elders, Canadian Iroquois elders, Mexican Aztec descendant Cacique, Latino community leaders, Greek Cretan village elders, North African community elders in Paris, Noongar elders in Western Australia, Samoan and Tongan Matai, etc. Their political status differs from that of ordinary \u0026quot;masses,\u0026quot; \u0026quot;citizens,\u0026quot; or \u0026quot;commoners,\u0026quot; sometimes significantly. As Liao Yang said, \u0026quot;Every specific ethnic member can choose their own different identification in different categories and levels centered on themselves based on the bottom-up inter-ethnic and intra-ethnic environment\u0026quot;(Liao Y.2004). Differences in political status affect the length and width of their individual democracy. \u0026quot;Political culture is the collective expression of individual political behavior, political experience, and political socialization. It reflects.the soft environment of social political operation\u0026quot;(Wang Zh.J.2001), serving as a footnote to \u0026quot;length\u0026quot; and \u0026quot;width,\u0026quot; enveloping every ordinary person trying to find space for democratic expression.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(5) Institutional costs constrain the boundary of individual democracy.\u003c/strong\u003e The institutional cost theory proposed by the New Institutional Economics school, represented by North(2008), has two meanings: costs from induced institutional change and costs from mandatory change. However, their stance focuses on the quantitative perspective of national political systems and economic performance. North\u0026rsquo;s theory of institutional change mainly consists of three parts: the micro-level theory of change motivation, the meso-level theory of change methods, and the macro-level theory of change paths. At the micro level, North highlighted the role of relative price and preference changes in driving institutional change at the meso level, North examined two ways organizations achieve institutional change: knowledge development and continuous interaction; at the macro level, North examined important factors shaping the disparate institutional development and change paths of different economies, namely increasing returns and incomplete markets\u0026quot; (Cai X.B.2016). Individual democratic boundaries are an arrangement \u0026quot;aimed at constructing a reliable causal explanation mechanism for incremental and imperceptible institutional change phenomena like drift, conversion, layering, and substitution from deep internal connections\u0026quot;(Long X.G.\u0026amp; Wang J.H.2025). Breaking the boundary of individual democratic social space involves costs, and whether these costs are high or low depends on whether it is a purely individual act or a collective crystallization. When an isolated individual tries to expand their social space and increase individual democratic freedom, overcoming institutional constraints involves at least four costs:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e①Time cost,\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003eWang Fenglei and Qiqige (Wang F.L.\u0026amp; Qi Q.G.2024), taking the growth of young teachers as an example, noted they must pay time costs in six areas: urgency, teaching and research time, parenting time, leisure time, leniency, and accumulation/gradualism. These are just \u0026quot;normal range\u0026quot; costs, far from the time cost for innovative breakthroughs or breaking institutional constraints. Thus, before an individual exerts force in one direction to create qualitative change, the time cost to break institutional constraints is exponentially higher than that of a collective, sometimes costing a lifetime.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e② Economic cost,\u003c/strong\u003ethe amount required to break the individual democratic expressive social space. This refers to the \u0026quot;normal\u0026quot; growth and expansion of individual democratic space, opposite to the destructive paths of people like Shen Boyang. Even so, changing the institutional constraint framework requires unexpected economic costs. For example, the \u0026quot;Tencent Electronic Sign-Small IOU\u0026quot; service aims to autonomously address individual financial activity space, but some \u0026quot;714 high-cannon\u0026quot; lenders inflate principal amounts or shorten loan terms. Users bear extremely high annual interest; since the electronic IOU is legally binding, they must repay huge sums... though it sets a 12% (Jiang,M.Y.\u0026amp; Zhang,R.W.2021) annual interest cap, it may still result in catastrophic economic costs.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e③Risk cost:\u003c/strong\u003einstitutional constraints that must be obeyed for democracy. Some individuals, in attempting to break boundaries or perceived constraints, \u0026quot;expand\u0026quot; indiscriminately and without a bottom line. Such behavior reaches the point where \u0026quot;Article 103 of the \u003cem\u003eCriminal Law\u003c/em\u003e stipulates the \u0026apos;Crime of Splitting the Country\u0026apos;: Organizing, planning, or implementing splitting the country or undermining national unity; ringleaders or those with serious crimes are sentenced to life imprisonment or fixed-term imprisonment of over ten years; active participants are sentenced to three to ten years\u0026quot;(NetEase, 2020), Under these standards, the risk cost is enormous.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e④\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOpportunity cost,\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003einfinite desires and limited resources, one must consider opportunity cost in everything. Whether the scarcity opportunity cost of breaking institutional constraints on individual democratic boundaries is high or low depends on the individual\u0026apos;s upper limit of comprehensive capability. Friedrich von Wieser\u0026rsquo;s (Wieser,F.V.2020) definition \u0026mdash;\u0026quot;where production factors can be used for many different purposes, one must choose the most economically efficient use in terms of kind and quantity\u0026quot;\u0026mdash;does not specify the perspective: is it the individual\u0026apos;s perceived best efficiency or others\u0026apos; perceived best return? The author identifies that this opportunity cost must be based on the individual\u0026apos;s comparison of returns and costs relative to their upper limit of capability. As Xu Nan and Zheng Yan said, \u0026quot;the opportunity cost of the same thing or choice may be greater for high-ability individuals\u0026quot;(Xu N.\u0026amp; Zheng Y.2005). Only this has a decisive impact on the individual, rather than others\u0026apos; judgments, which lack sufficient influence.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"IV. Empirical Analysis of Democratic Space ","content":"\u003cp\u003eWhen the logic of the competitive exclusion principle enters the democratic space, different subjects with varying values and interests demand occupy similar \u0026lsquo;participation niches\u0026rsquo;. Resource competition and exclusion exist only to a limited degree, meaning subjects share and co-utilize democratic spaces within a set framework. To explore how this principle appears in democratic space and verify individual expressive boundaries using 11 material and non-material resource indicators, a specialized online survey was launched. It was distributed to different groups for voluntary completion, with no specific focus on region, group, education, or age (except for civil servants), and responses were randomly generated. The survey lasted four days, from 22:05 on November 20, 2025, to 22:14 on February 20, 2026. All data came from the Wenjuanxing platform.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e4.1 Questionnaire Design and Distribution\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConducting questionnaire surveys only within the territory of China has obvious limitations, and the objective reflection of the overall characteristics of the essence of democracy is somewhat affected, but this impact is not fundamental and will not affect the overall situation. Specifically, it can be summarized as follows:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst, the sample is geographically singular and lacks representativeness. The practice mode of democracy is greatly influenced by regional history, culture and social system. Conducting questionnaires only in China cannot cover the democratic practice samples of different countries and different development stages, making it difficult to reflect the diversity of democratic forms. The conclusions drawn may have slight differences from the essence of global democracy.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSecond, the generalizability of the conclusions needs to be improved. The conclusions related to democracy drawn based on questionnaire surveys in a single region of China may not have high adaptability, but they are not completely inapplicable, and the degree of restriction on the application value of the research remains to be verified.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThird, it is easy to produce cognitive biases. The questionnaire data in China may ignore the uniqueness and differences of democratic practices in other regions, making it impossible to grasp the overall laws of democratic development as a whole. Of course, the essence of world democracy is inherent, not an abstraction and induction of superficial phenomena. Superficially, it is easy to fall into \u0026quot;single regional cognition\u0026quot;, but in essence, it does not affect the objectivity and rigor of the research conclusions.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe questionnaire comprised 5 dimensions and 30 observation points (see Table 2), using a Likert scale [1=completely inconsistent, 2=not quite consistent, 3=neutral, 4=relatively consistent, 5=completely consistent] to measure individual subjective perceptions of democracy.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTable 2: 5 Dimensions and 30 Observation Points of the Individual Democracy Perception and Behavior Questionnaire\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"3\" cellpadding=\"0\"\u003e\n \u003cthead\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eI. Spatial Structure Dimension (6 items)\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/thead\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.1 I can independently determine the use of physical environments such as living and exclusive work areas.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.2 In social circles such as family, workplace, or community, my opinions are often taken seriously and adopted by others.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.3 I can freely modify my personal online account information and creative content, and control the interaction rules in the virtual realm.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.4 Facing social scenarios I do not agree with, I can independently choose to exit or maintain an independent stance.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.5 My physical space (such as residence, desk) is rarely occupied or interfered with by others without permission.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.6 In online communication, I can independently decide whether to participate in discussions or respond to others, without being forced.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eII. Time Pivot Dimension (6 items)\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.1 Within a unit of time (such as a day/week), I have more time that can be independently arranged without interference from others.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.2 When encountering matters involving myself, I can quickly make a democratic expression (such as proposing opinions or stating a stance).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.3 I will reserve special time for participating in public discussions and maintaining my own reasonable rights.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.4 Facing decision requests proposed by others, I have sufficient time to think before responding without being rushed.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.5 In my time allocation priority, individual democratic demands (such as expressing true thoughts or participating in decision-making) account for a high proportion.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.6 Even if work or life is busy, I can still find time to handle matters related to my own democratic rights.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIII. Resource Occupancy Dimension (6 items)\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.1 My personal income and disposable wealth are sufficient to support the costs (such as time and money) for maintaining democratic rights.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.2 I possess the ability to clearly express opinions and logically argue viewpoints, making others understand my demands.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.3 When I propose a democratic demand, there are friends, colleagues, or community members around me willing to support me.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.4 The knowledge and skills I possess can help me more effectively participate in decision-making or express my own stance.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.5 I am willing to invest part of my income or resources into the maintenance of individual democratic rights, which can expand my democratic expressive space.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.6 My social network can provide help for the transmission of my democratic demands and problem-solving.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIV. Boundary Demarcation Dimension (6 items) \u003csup\u003e12\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.1 For core matters such as personal consumption and career choice, I insist that they must be decided by myself.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.2 I clearly know which matters can accept interference from others and which matters absolutely cannot be compromised.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.3 Facing unreasonable interference from family or colleagues, I can clearly refuse and stick to my own decision-making boundary.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.4 I will adjust my democratic boundary according to the object of interaction (such as family or strangers) and respond flexibly to different scenarios.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.5 I rarely give up matters that I think \u0026quot;must be decided by myself\u0026quot; due to pressure from others (Reverse item).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.6 I can clearly convey my decision-making boundary to others to avoid unnecessary interference.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eV. Political Resource Set Dimension (6 items)\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e5.1 When my democratic rights are damaged, I know the available complaint and rights protection channels and can successfully use them.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e5.2 I possess a certain discourse power in the community or workplace and can influence some decision-making results.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e5.3 I clearly understand the relevant basis (such as rules and common sense) of my own expressive rights and participation rights.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e5.4 The organizations I participate in (such as communities and industry associations) can provide support for my democratic demands.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e5.5 I can transmit my own demands to relevant decision-makers or influencers through reasonable channels.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e5.6 My perception of my own democratic rights is clear enough that I will not give up my claims due to a lack of understanding.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAmong the 23 provinces, 4 municipalities, 5 autonomous regions, and 2 special administrative regions in the country, only Qinghai, Macau, and Hong Kong had no samples; all other 31 provinces and cities were included, though they were relatively concentrated in a few provinces and cities (work reasons being the primary cause), taking into account the representation of groups in different regions and with different participation identities. After cleaning the questionnaires, 302 valid questionnaires were obtained, providing empirical data support.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e4.2 Multi-dimensional Overall Overview\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis investigation reveals that among the five dimensions of individual democracy perception, the \u003cstrong\u003eBoundary Demarcation Dimension\u003c/strong\u003e (3.72 points) performed best, while the \u003cstrong\u003eTime Pivot Dimension\u003c/strong\u003e (3.46 points) and the \u003cstrong\u003ePolitical Resource Set Dimension\u003c/strong\u003e (3.41 points) were relatively weak, showing a general characteristic of \u0026quot;strong boundary awareness, but practical resources to be supplemented.\u0026quot; From the core findings, individuals have a strong sense of control over physical space autonomy (3.88 points) and decision-making power for core matters (above 3.7 points). But, there are obvious shortcomings in \u0026quot;proactive practices\u0026quot; such as opinion adoption (3.58 points), usage of rights protection channels, and time investment. Among different groups, respondents over 31 years old have a stronger perception of online autonomy; those with low-income groups (over 90%) and young groups face greater pressure in resource and time allocation. The deep-seated contradiction is reflected in: on the one hand, the public has a clear perception of the negative freedom of \u0026quot;not being interfered with\u0026quot;; on the other hand, the practice of positive freedom in \u0026quot;proactive participation\u0026quot; is insufficient, which is closely related to factors such as vague rights awareness, insufficient channel efficacy, high time and economic costs, and external pressure. This suggests that promoting individual democratic practice \u0026nbsp; individuals. Through technological empowerment and mechanism innovation, strong boundary awareness can be transformed into effective democratic participation, deepening from \u0026quot;passive non-interference\u0026quot; to \u0026quot;proactive effective action.\u0026quot;\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(1) The overall score of the Spatial Structure Dimension is at a medium-high level\u003c/strong\u003e, with the average scores of all items ranging between 3.5 and 3.88. The overall average score is 3.68, indicating that domestic respondents perform well in autonomy and sense of control related to spatial structure, experiencing high satisfaction and control, reflecting their positive experience in environmental adaptation and individual initiative.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(2) The overall performance of the Time Pivot Dimension is at a medium-high level,\u003c/strong\u003e with the average scores of all items ranging between 3.38 and 3.6. The overall average score is 3.46, indicating that respondents\u0026apos; performance in generally at a medium-high level. Among the items, \u0026quot;being able to quickly make a democratic expression when encountering matters involving oneself\u0026quot; has the highest average score (3.6), showing that respondents\u0026apos; ability in this area is prominent; while \u0026quot;individual democratic demands account for a high proportion in my time allocation priority\u0026quot; has a relatively low average score (3.43) but still remains within the medium range. Other related item scores are also relatively balanced, further confirming the stability of the overall performance. Overall, respondents exhibit a consistent level of democratic expression and time allocation in the dimension, though there is still room for improvement in specific fields.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(3) The overall score for the Resource Occupancy Dimension is at a medium level\u003c/strong\u003e, with an \u0026nbsp;average score of 3.51 points (out of 5). This value falls within the range of \u0026quot;neutral\u0026quot; to \u0026quot;relatively consistent.\u0026quot; This result indicates that most respondents have a relatively neutral evaluation of their own situation regarding resource occupancy, showing neither a clear sense of resource scarcity nor a significant sense of advantage. Furthermore, this score reflects that the respondent group is generally at a medium level in terms of resource occupancy, possibly with certain basic guarantees, but there is still room for improvement in resource richness, disposability, or the comprehensive allocation of tangible and intangible resources. Overall, the score shows a balanced but yet-to-be-strengthened state of self-perception.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(4) The overall Boundary Demarcation Awareness is at a medium-high level,\u003c/strong\u003e with an average score of 3.72 (out of 5),that participants generally have some boundary awareness, and self-regulation ability. Among options, \u0026quot;relatively consistent\u0026quot; accounts for the highest proportion at 42.37%, and \u0026quot;completely consistent\u0026quot; accounts for 17.37%; together, they make up nearly \u0026nbsp; 60%, further indicating that most people can perceive the existence of personal boundaries in psychological, behavioral, or emotional aspects and possess a certain degree of autonomous maintenance ability. Additionally, 23.16% of participants chose \u0026quot;neutral,\u0026quot; reflecting that the perception of boundary issues for some remains in a vague or intermediate state; while \u0026quot;not quite consistent\u0026quot; and \u0026quot;completely inconsistent\u0026quot; account for 11.05% and 6.05%, respectively, showing that a small portion of the population still has an obvious lack of boundary awareness. This distribution indicates that although the overall level is positive, there are still perceptual differences and practical gaps, suggesting the need for further attention to individual differences and specific situational guidance in relevant education or intervention.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(5) The Political Resource Set is overall at a medium-high level.\u003c/strong\u003e The scores across the various dimensions of the political resource set are concentrated in the \u0026quot;neutral\u0026quot; and \u0026quot;relatively consistent\u0026quot; options, accounting for 78.29%. The average score is 3.41, which is at a medium-high level, indicating that the overall perception of political resources is relatively positive but still has room for improvement.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOverall, the KMO value is 0.949, and Bartlett\u0026apos;s test of sphericity is significant, indicating that the data are suitable for factor analysis. After rotation, the cumulative variance explained \u0026nbsp;reaches 70.92%, and the commonalities of most items exceed 0.5, indicating ideal structural validity (see Table 3).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTable3: Data Suitability Factors for 4 Basic Characteristics and 30 Observation Points\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"3\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"568\"\u003e\n \u003cthead\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eItem\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFactor 1\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFactor 2\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFactor 3\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFactor 4\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFactor 5\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFactor 6\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCommonality\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/thead\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eYour Age\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.10\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.06\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.08\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.68\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.57\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.802\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eYour Highest Education\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.06\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.01\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.17\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.85\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.751\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eYour Personal Monthly Income Level\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.06\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.02\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.07\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.03\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.83\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.24\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.752\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eYour Occupation Type\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.12\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.03\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.10\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.73\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.03\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.563\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eI can independently determine the use of physical environments, such as living space and work areas\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.49\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.32\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.10\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.46\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.21\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.15\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.632\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIn social circles such as family, workplace, or community, my opinions are often taken seriously or adopted by others\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.45\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.23\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.13\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.55\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.611\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eI can freely modify my personal online account information and creative content, and control the interaction rules in the virtual realm\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.09\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.19\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.21\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.76\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.15\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.26\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.754\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eFacing social scenarios that I do not agree with, I can independently choose to exit or maintain an independent stance\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.32\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.71\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.09\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.696\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMy physical space (such as residence, desk) is rarely occupied or interfered with by others without permission\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.19\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.08\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.42\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.67\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.01\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.04\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.670\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIn online communication, I can independently decide whether to participate in discussions or respond to others, without being forced\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.36\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.25\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.61\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.13\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.656\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eWithin a unit of time (such as a day/week), I have more time that can be independently arranged without interference from others\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.68\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.12\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.25\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.24\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.07\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.10\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.618\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eWhen encountering matters involving myself, I can quickly make a democratic expression (such as proposing opinions or stating a stance)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.67\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.24\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.35\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.29\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.09\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.21\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.775\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eI will reserve special time for participating in public discussions and maintaining my own reasonable rights\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.69\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.32\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.22\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.18\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.04\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.08\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.668\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eFacing decision requests proposed by others, I have sufficient time to think before responding without being rushed\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.64\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.29\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.34\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.17\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.01\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.05\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.636\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIn my time allocation priority, individual democratic demands (such as expressing true thoughts or participating in decision-making) account for a high proportion\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.74\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.29\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.26\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.18\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.11\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.02\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.745\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eEven if work or life is busy, I can still find time to handle matters related to my own democratic rights\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.72\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.34\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.30\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.15\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.08\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.06\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.764\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMy personal income and disposable wealth are sufficient to support the costs (such as time and money) for maintaining democratic rights\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.59\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.30\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.24\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.19\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.17\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.19\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.595\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eI possess the ability to clearly express opinions and logically argue viewpoints, making others understand my demands\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.45\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.24\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.45\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.40\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.17\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.651\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eWhen I propose a democratic demand, there are friends, colleagues, or community members around me willing to support me\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.54\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.26\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.42\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.34\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.05\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.14\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.677\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eI possess the knowledge and skills to help me more effectively participate in decision-making or express my own stance\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.54\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.21\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.44\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.35\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.22\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.701\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eI am willing to invest part of my income or resources into the maintenance of individual democratic rights, which can expand my democratic expressive space\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.54\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.38\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.39\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.11\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.01\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.26\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.670\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMy social network can provide help for the transmission of my democratic demands and problem-solving\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.54\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.29\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.18\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.06\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.707\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eFor core matters such as personal consumption and career choice, I insist that they must be decided by myself\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.30\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.23\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.75\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.18\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.07\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.09\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.745\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eI clearly know which matters can accept interference from others and which matters absolutely cannot be compromised\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.28\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.28\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.77\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.22\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.796\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eFacing unreasonable interference from family or colleagues, I can clearly refuse and stick to my own decision-making boundary\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.35\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.24\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.70\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.01\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.10\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.728\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eI will adjust my democratic boundary according to the object of interaction (such as family or strangers) and respond flexibly to different scenarios\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.29\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.26\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.75\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.28\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.06\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.795\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eI rarely give up matters that I think \u0026quot;must be decided by myself\u0026quot; due to pressure from others (Reverse item)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.33\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.37\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.63\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.19\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.05\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.09\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.694\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eI can clearly convey my decision-making boundary to others to avoid unnecessary interference\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.32\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.41\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.60\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.22\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.08\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.677\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eWhen my democratic rights are damaged, I know the available complaint and rights protection channels and can successfully use them\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.66\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.33\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.23\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.04\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.05\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.638\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eI possess a certain discourse power in the community or workplace and can influence some decision-making results\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.39\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.76\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.07\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.13\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.03\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.759\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eI clearly understand the relevant basis (such as rules and common sense) of my own expressive rights and participation rights\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.21\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.76\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.24\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.34\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.02\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.05\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.798\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe organizations I participate in (such as communities and industry associations) can provide support for my democratic demands\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.26\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.83\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.15\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.16\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.03\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.05\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.815\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eI can transmit my own demands to relevant decision-makers through reasonable channels\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.30\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.81\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.23\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.17\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.06\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.829\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMy perception of my own democratic rights is clear enough that I will not give up my claims due to a lack of understanding\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.27\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.70\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.14\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.40\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.04\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.05\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.748\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eEigenvalue (before rotation)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e16.29\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.75\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.63\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.26\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.19\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eVariance explanation rate % (before rotation)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e47.90%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e5.88%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e5.14%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.79%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.71%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.50%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCumulative variance explanation rate % (before rotation)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e47.90%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e53.78%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e58.92%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e63.71%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e67.42%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e70.92%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eEigenvalue (after rotation)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e6.38\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e5.39\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.65\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e5.17\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.92\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.61\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eVariance explanation rate % (after rotation)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e18.76%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e15.86%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e10.73%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e15.20%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e5.64%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.73%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCumulative variance explanation rate % (after rotation)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e18.76%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e34.62%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e60.55%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e49.82%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e66.20%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e70.92%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eKMO Value\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.949\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eBartlett Sphericity Value\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e7732.092\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003edf\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e561.000\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ep-value\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;All 30 observation points meet the qualified standard of \u0026quot;＞0.5\u0026quot;and most are at a high level, indicating that the extracted 6 factors can effectively explain the information in the items: ① High proportion of high-commonality items: the commonalities of 21 items are＞0.7(such as item 2=0.751, item 3=0.752, item 7=0.754, item 32=0.815, item 33=0.829), accounting for 58.3%, with item 1 having the highest commonality (0.802) and item 33 reaching 0.829, indicating that the information of these items is \u0026quot;highly covered\u0026quot; by the 6 factors without obvious information omission; ② Minimum commonality is up to standard: the item with the lowest commonality, item 4 (0.563), is still higher than 0.5, and only 1 item falls in the 0.5\u0026ndash;0.6 range (item 4). No items have a commonality＜0.5, proving that the explanatory power of the factors for all items is qualified, and there is no need to delete items for model optimization.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(6) The variance explained by the factors is good\u003c/strong\u003e, with 6 factors covering more than 70% of the information. From the variance explained before and after rotation, the cumulative explanatory power of the 6 factors reaches 70.92%, which meets the effective standard of \u0026quot;cumulative variance explained rate＞60%.\u0026quot; Moreover, the variance distribution of the factors after rotation is more balanced, avoiding \u0026quot;over-explanation\u0026quot; by a single factor: first, before rotation, the variance explained by factor 1 was as high as 47.90%, while the others were only 5%\u0026ndash;3.5%, creating an issue where the \u0026quot;first factor over-dominates,\u0026quot; which is unfavorable for distinguishing the independent roles of the factors; second, after rotation, the variance explained by the 6 factors is 18.76%, 15.86%, 15.20%, 10.73%, 5.64%, and 4.73%, respectively. Although differences still exist, there is no extreme imbalance, and the cumulative variance explained rate remains unchanged at 70.92%. This means that rotation optimized only the \u0026quot;information distribution\u0026quot; of the factors, without losing overall explanatory power, making it more favorable for subsequent analysis of the independent influence of each factor (such as comparing differences in the \u0026quot;democratic rights expression factor\u0026quot; and \u0026quot;time autonomy factor\u0026quot; across different groups).\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(7) The factor structure aligns with the research logic of \u0026quot;democratic space under the competitive exclusion principle\u0026quot;,\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003eCombined with the core research theme, the above factor structure can be further associated with the core mechanism of \u0026quot;competitive exclusion,\u0026quot; providing a direction for subsequent analysis: first, basic characteristic factors (Factors 5 and 6) are the premises for \u0026quot;competing for resources.\u0026quot; Age, income, education, and occupation type ( Factors 5 and 6) can be regarded as \u0026quot;basic resources\u0026quot; for democratic participation. Resource differences may lead to competition for \u0026quot;participation ecological niches.\u0026quot; For example, groups with high income (Factor 5 loading 0.83) and high education (Factor 6 loading 0.85) may possess more time and channels to participate in democratic activities, thereby \u0026nbsp; gaining an advantage in competition and creating exclusion for groups with fewer resources; second, democratic participation ability factors (Factor 1, 2, 3, 4) are the manifestation of \u0026quot;competition results.\u0026quot; Time autonomy (Factor 1), rights expression support (Factor 2), decision-making boundary perception (Factor 3), and spatial autonomy (Factor 4) can be regarded as \u0026quot;ability dimensions\u0026quot; of democratic participation. If an individual score low on these factors, they may be in an \u0026quot;excluded\u0026quot; position in the competition for democratic participation\u0026mdash;subsequent analysis can combine \u0026quot;factor score means\u0026quot; to compare differences \u0026nbsp;among individuals (at income and education levels) on these factors, verifying the existence of the \u0026quot;competitive exclusion principle.\u0026quot;\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"3\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"605\"\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"8\" style=\"width: 601px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTable 4: Manifestation of Educational Attainment Levels Across Several Observation Points\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eItem\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 50px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMean\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStandard Deviation\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYour Highest Education\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 78px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIn social circles such as family, workplace, or community, my opinions are often taken seriously or adopted by others\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 79px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eI can freely modify personal online account information and creative content, and control interaction rules in the virtual realm\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 74px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMy physical space (such as residence, desk) is rarely occupied or interfered with by others without permission\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 97px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIn online communication, I can independently decide whether to participate in discussions or respond to others, without being forced\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYour Highest Education\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 50px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e5.04\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.09\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 78px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.05\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 79px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.16\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 74px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.01\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 97px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.05\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ep-value\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 50px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 78px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ep\u0026lt;0.05\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 79px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 74px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ep\u0026lt;0.01\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 97px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e4.4 Individual multi-point comparison: problems and differences\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(1) The influence of educational differences on individual democratic boundary expression appears to show almost negligible difference on the surface\u003c/strong\u003e. In \u0026nbsp; public view, a highly educated, democratic, expressive space should exhibit significant \u0026quot;growth\u0026quot; or an \u0026quot;outward shift\u0026quot; in its boundary, yet analysis of a national sample indicates that this conclusion is unreliable. Relatively speaking, \u0026nbsp;higher education is \u0026nbsp;associated by a certain \u0026quot;enlargement\u0026quot; of the individual\u0026apos;s democratic expressive social space, but it is not significant. According to statistics on 30 indicators, the average scores for high school/technical school education, junior college, bachelor\u0026apos;s degree, and master\u0026apos;s degree and above are 3.516, 3.484, 3.546, and 3.556, respectively. The gap between the highest and \u0026nbsp;lowest \u0026nbsp; is only 0.072 points. Among them, the junior college group is 0.032 points lower than that of the high school group. Although this gap can be called \u0026quot;minuscule,\u0026quot; it is almost negligible at a group level \u0026nbsp;and is regarded as having no substantive difference. Therefore, the \u0026quot;small score\u0026quot; difference can fully support the conclusion of \u0026quot;sufficient expressive space.\u0026quot; However, the performance of individual indicators is not \u0026quot;very good,\u0026quot; as evidenced by the small, non-significant correlation coefficients between education and \u0026quot;opinions being taken seriously\u0026quot; and \u0026quot;controlling virtual realm interaction rules\u0026quot; (see Table 4).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(2) The impact of different occupations on individual democratic perception is relatively clear.\u003c/strong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAmong the unemployed, 10 of the 30 observation points are below 3, with an average score of only 3.12, just above the \u0026quot;qualified\u0026quot; line. The average score for personnel working in foreign-funded enterprises reaches 3.82 (freelancers are close to it but have not reached that height). The gap between the two reaches 0.7 points, a difference of 14% (see Table 5). This is a statistically significant gap, large enough for individual democracy to manifest substantively\u0026mdash;that is, individual expression across different occupations is constrained by occupational resources. Different occupations have distinct perceptions of democracy and distinct resource bundles, and the social space for individual democratic expression also varies. For example, the single-item score difference between unemployed persons and foreign-funded enterprise workers is as high as 1.85. On a 5-point full scale, this proportional relationship becomes a 37% difference (a simple quantitative comparison), which is an astonishing substantive gap. In reality, the two appear to have a \u0026quot;democratic pattern\u0026quot; worlds apart. This sense of impact from resource constraints is very obvious and convincing, but it is not the most significant factor affecting individual democratic expression; income level is the most obvious, though it is closely related to differences in occupation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"3\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"568\"\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"7\" style=\"width: 564px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTable 5: Subjective perception score comparison of individual democracy for different occupations in 30 observation points\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eUnemployed\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 55px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSOE\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 84px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIndividual Business\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 79px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublic Institution\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 81px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePrivate Enterprise\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFreelance\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 104px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eForeign-funded Enterprise\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.75\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 55px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.33\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 84px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.33\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 79px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.48\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 81px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.58\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 104px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.60\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 55px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.44\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 84px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.33\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 79px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.52\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 81px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.76\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.55\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 104px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.60\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.75\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 55px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.33\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 84px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.17\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 79px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.59\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 81px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.74\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.55\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 104px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.40\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.25\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 55px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 84px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.42\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 79px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.76\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 81px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.74\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.05\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 104px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.80\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 55px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.44\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 84px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.87\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 79px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.67\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 81px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.97\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 104px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 55px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.56\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 84px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.42\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 79px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.81\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 81px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.80\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 104px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.75\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 55px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.17\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 84px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 79px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.26\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 81px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.24\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.85\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 104px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.80\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 55px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.33\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 84px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 79px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.56\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 81px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.47\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.05\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 104px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.80\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.75\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 55px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.17\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 84px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 79px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.37\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 81px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.44\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.45\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 104px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.80\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.75\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 55px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.28\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 84px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.42\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 79px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.47\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 81px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.45\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.70\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 104px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.25\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 55px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.17\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 84px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.58\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 79px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.32\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 81px;\"\u003e\n 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79px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.31\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 81px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.36\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.60\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 104px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.60\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 55px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.33\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 84px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.33\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 79px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.38\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 81px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.32\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.35\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 104px;\"\u003e\n 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68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.80\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 104px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 55px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.33\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 84px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.25\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 79px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.47\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 81px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.32\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.45\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 104px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.75\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 55px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.06\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 84px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.33\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 79px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.29\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 81px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.27\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 104px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.80\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.75\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 55px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.22\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 84px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.48\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 79px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.33\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 81px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.32\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.40\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 104px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.80\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 55px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.06\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 84px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.33\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 79px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.29\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 81px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.10\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 104px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.60\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.75\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 55px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.22\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 84px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.17\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 79px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.53\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 81px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.32\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 104px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.60\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 55px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.28\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 84px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.42\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 79px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.48\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 81px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.85\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 104px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.12 (Avg)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 55px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.36 (Avg)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 84px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.46 (Avg)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 79px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.53 (Avg)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 81px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.54 (Avg)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.69 (Avg)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 104px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.82 (Avg)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(3) The impact of income levels on democratic expressive space is substantial\u003c/strong\u003e. The most prominent resource for expressing individual democratic rights is financial support, and personal economic level and resource acquisition ability become the main measurement indicators; Chinese people (compared with Western developed countries, the inclination to express is more obvious and the numerical gap will be more significant) need to rely on social resources or personal connections in some scenarios. Given the \u0026quot;limited discourse power\u0026quot; of ordinary individuals, some lack self-perception, believing they are \u0026quot;insignificant\u0026quot; or that \u0026quot;it is not necessary\u0026quot; to exercise rights. Under the \u0026quot;endurance\u0026quot; of Confucian culture, worrying about being excluded due to disagreements, about affecting future development, or about ineffective demands due to non-standard operations, a low willingness to actively exercise rights will also affect data fluctuations. Even so, the average score difference between low-income and high-income earners reaches 0.61 points, but it is composed of 5 income segments (see Table 6) and presents a \u0026quot;lying flat\u0026quot; L shape. Among the 30 single-point scores, only 3 indicators are lower than 4 points, and the lowest reaches 3.8 points. This group is the highest income among all investigated groups, at least 3.76 times the per capita income of 95,749 RMB for Chinese people. Therefore, they show a strong sense of space and freedom in every expression. What is slightly surprising is that the subjective perception score for individual democratic expression among individuals with an income of 12,000\u0026ndash;20,000 RMB is lower than that of individuals with an income of 8,000\u0026ndash;12,000 RMB; others are within the normal range. The echelon of monthly income below 20,000 RMB forms a long, wide base. Above 20,000 RMB, especially reaching 30,000 RMB and above, it becomes the tower body, and their confidence in expressing their own democratic space clearly \u0026quot;becomes stronger.\u0026quot; \u0026quot;A study by the National University of Singapore shows that earning a higher income makes people feel more satisfied, confident, and have more self-esteem.\u0026quot; The results showed that as income increases, daily feelings improve, and overall life satisfaction increases. Those with an annual income of 80,000 USD or more possess more positive self-emotions (confidence, goodness, interest, and pride), while negative emotions (boredom, badness, sadness, unease) are significantly reduced(Yan Sh.2021), but no matter how it is explained, under other constant conditions, the individual democratic boundary of high-income earners \u0026quot;shifts outward\u0026quot; and the social space is \u0026quot;stretched large,\u0026quot; which is the change brought by the dominant status of this resource in society.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"3\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"568\"\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"7\" style=\"width: 564px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTable 6: Subjective perception score comparison of income height in 30 observation points\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBelow 3k\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3k\u0026ndash;5k\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e5k\u0026ndash;8k\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e8k\u0026ndash;12k\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e12k\u0026ndash;20k\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e20k\u0026ndash;30k\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e30k\u0026ndash;50k\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.28\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.16\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.46\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.76\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.58\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.25\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.60\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.52\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.39\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.46\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.64\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.79\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.60\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.82\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.41\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.51\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.69\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.53\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.25\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.73\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.57\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.65\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.73\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.79\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.75\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.40\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.82\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.88\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.89\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.96\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.47\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.63\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.68\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.69\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.87\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.63\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.46\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.32\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.10\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.26\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.21\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.40\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.71\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.55\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.51\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.42\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.75\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.41\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.34\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.44\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.30\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.21\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n 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83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.74\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.25\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.63\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.46\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.62\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.74\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.84\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.25\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.43\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.21\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.36\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.63\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.80\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.42\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.09\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.42\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n 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83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.56\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.61\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.64\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.54\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.53\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.75\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.65\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.61\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.69\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.60\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.58\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.75\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.52\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.44\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.43\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.21\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.80\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.39\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.11\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.26\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.23\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.53\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.75\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.54\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.25\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.33\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.49\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.32\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.75\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.40\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.44\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.11\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.31\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.11\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.80\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.58\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.31\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.37\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.63\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.63\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.46\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.40\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.49\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.58\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.25\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3.56\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3.40\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3.50\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3.57\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3.52\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3.91\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 83px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e4.17\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n \u003c/table\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHowever, under the competitive exclusion principle, individual democracy \u0026nbsp;in this study was \u0026quot;remodeled\u0026quot;, and the differences in subjective perception scores of individual democracy are \u0026quot;generally small.\u0026quot; This may reflect the following possibilities: first, if the expressive space is narrow, when individuals are forced to cater to a certain attitude, \u0026quot;mean score polarization\u0026quot; may appear (such as all 5 points or all ①which was the case for respondents, but differences of 0.07 points and 0.032 points correspond to a \u0026quot;neutral or mild average attitude,\u0026quot; more likely to be a consensus after individual independent judgment; ②due to the rationality of the issue itself and the consistency of group perception, the final mean only presents tiny fluctuations\u0026mdash;this is the ideal state of \u0026quot;democratic expression\u0026quot;: both protecting individual freedom and forming group consensus; ③the expressions of all individuals fall into a \u0026quot;similar attitude interval,\u0026quot; indicating that there is no \u0026quot;hidden opposition\u0026quot; (such as not daring to express opposition, apparent convergence but internal resistance) caused by \u0026quot;unfree expression\u0026quot; within the group, nor is there \u0026quot;extreme division\u0026quot; caused by \u0026quot;excessive expressive space\u0026quot;;④individuals can freely express different opinions, but expression differences will not trigger group opposition, nor will real attitudes be hidden due to fear of suppression\u0026mdash;fitting the core demand of diverse and harmonious democratic expression; ⑤if the issue itself forms a broad social consensus, after individual free expression, it will naturally present a \u0026quot;centralized mean score\u0026quot; result, which is not narrow expressive space but strong consensus; sixth, there may be hidden factors of convergent expression, as those with 3 points or more account for at least 90%, due to human feelings, social relationships, as well as mentalities like \u0026quot;fear of trouble\u0026quot; and \u0026quot;conformity psychology,\u0026quot; leading to unwillingness or hesitation to stick to claims, or in some aspects, democratic demand transmission is unsmooth or the response is slow or the effect is not obvious.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"V. Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe results of this investigation show that respondents\u0026rsquo; democratic perception across five dimensions of spatial structure, time pivot, resource occupancy, boundary demarcation, and political resource set is overall at a medium-high level, indicating that individuals in the current society already possess a certain level of autonomous awareness and action, a foundation for daily democratic practice. Based on these characteristics, high-income groups perform better in spatial autonomy and sense of control, but the direct correlation between education and social democratic perception is weak, and different occupations differ in income levels and democratic practice scenarios. These issues reflect the current reality of \u0026quot;knowing is easy, but doing is difficult\u0026quot; in democratic practice\u0026mdash;although individuals possess a certain autonomous awareness and boundary perception, these are highly related to the resource constraint set of their country, which can explain why the surface individual democratic expressive \u0026quot;degree\u0026quot; and social space in developed countries are so large. However, the essence still needs to be decomposed from multiple levels before truly understanding and explaining what democracy, freedom, expression, and the size of social space are.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003eEthics Approval Statement This study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board of Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences (IRB-CQUAS-2025-042). All procedures were conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the committee and the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eParticipant Consent Statement Informed written consent was obtained from all participants prior to their involvement in the questionnaire survey. All data were collected anonymously, used solely for academic research purposes, and participants\u0026apos; privacy and personal information were fully protected throughout the study.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCohen,C(1971).Democracy[M].Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press,ISBN‑10：0‑8203‑0271‑X\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSchumpeter, J. (1999). Capitalism, socialism and democracy (L. J. Wu, Trans.). Commercial Press Co., Ltd. https://book.cppinfo.cn/Encyclopedias/home/index?id=3611660\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDawson, R. E., \u0026amp; Edelman, M. (1965). The Symbolic Uses of Politics. 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Health Times. https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20210506A06HVO00\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"humanities-and-social-sciences-communications","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"palcomms","sideBox":"Learn more about [Humanities \u0026 Social Sciences Communications](http://www.nature.com/palcomms/)","snPcode":"41599","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/41599/3","title":"Humanities and Social Sciences Communications","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Nature AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Competitive Exclusion, Essence of Democracy, Resource Constraint, Boundary Verification ","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9057806/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9057806/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Different social, ethnic, and organizational groups interpret democracy in diverse ways, leading to myriad conclusions. 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