Benefit from the mechanisms

The primary function of the political process is not to arrive at an algorithm of decision-making but to transform each member of the polis into a citizen who would fulfill his duties faithfully. 

The ritual function of the political process is its most potent feature. It is not that a social contract subjects the citizens to the dictates of a government founded on the principles of legitimacy which is its most important attribute, it is that the political process transforms people into the sorts of people who could benefit from the mechanisms of a legitimate governmental process. 

The process shapes the people who then in turn participate in the process. It is hardly different from the evangelical process of conversion and rebirth. The act of participating as a member in the community shapes the people, energizes their souls, which in turn makes it possible for them to contribute productively to the corporate life of the community.