Why is Controller authorization important in Laravel applications, and what problem does it solve for developers?

Why is Controller authorization important in Laravel applications, and what problem does it solve for developers? The key reason to understand controller authorization is that Laravel applications are usually composed of several layers that must work together predictably. Controllers can authorize operations before they perform state-changing actions. Ignoring that boundary can lead to duplicated logic, poor security, unnecessary database work, or code that is difficult to test. Why it matters in practice: Authorization determines what an authenticated user is permitted to do and can be expressed through gates and policies. The specific focus here is controller authorization: Controllers can authorize operations before they perform state-changing actions. This question is designed to test not only terminology, but also how the concept fits into Laravel's request, application, database, security, or deployment workflow.