The terms of democracy are primarily ethical and secondarily physical. Democracy breathes in freedom and justice, and stands on universal values, not on particular interests that may legitimately exist, but it is tragic for them to govern.
This is the "politics" of essence and this is what institutions and their symbols must serve. If people seek a political system that provides the best conditions for happiness, the latter is primarily a matter of virtue and secondarily of the production and acquisition of material goods.
However, virtue is not something given. It is related to nature (habitus), to habit (ethos), and to a measured life (logos). The Politics speak of polity and not of mere assembly.
Polity is a way of the dominance of reason over a specific population. Without polity, without a higher ultimate purpose, there is no city. The city is a human creation aimed at one good: The peaceful coexistence and prosperity of people. That is why it is defined by qualitative and not quantitative characteristics.
