Democracy. I believe he did not favor “democracy” at least the one practiced (he thinks it failed) during that time (he blames that for the death of Socrates). Although one could argue he meant “humanity” or the citizenry, ie he equates such democratic failure (then) to humanity (then) as he thinks a man’s charater reflects the state he lives in. At least that’s how I understands the flow of that thought. 🤷‍♂️