The actual practice of democracy has certain basic qualities. When democracy is the equality of freedom, it is also an equality of power in the public realm. This equality of power is a distribution of ownership through public participation. Democracy can exist inside of the state or outside of the state and is most effective when it engages in a decentralization of power. Individuals and collectives exist simultaneously in the democratic structure, with the form of democracy as individual choice and the content of democracy as collective action. Those who engage in a democracy are co-owners of that democracy, and their ownership is equal based on the equality of their public participation.