The type of regime which a city has depends in large part upon the composition of its inhabitants. If the multitude of the poor is preeminent, there will be a democracy. If the well-off are preeminent, there will be an oligarchy. In any type of regime, the legislator should always aim to make the middling sort the dominant element. There are several devices which oligarchies use to deceive the people, such as making the assemblies open but charging a fee to attend.
Democracy has counterdevices, such as paying the poor to attend the assembly.
A polity ought to be ruled by those possessing heavy arms. The poor will not object from not having the ability to rule provided that they are not treated contemptuously or deprived of their property. Many regimes which used to be polities are now democracies because more people shared in ruling as the size of the city increased. There are three parts of all regimes that the lawmakers need to attend to. The first is the part which deliberates about common matter, the second is the part regarding offices, and the third is the adjudicative part.