"Why should citizens care? Why can't the masses be asses?"
I don't know what this is directed at but I have two things to say:
Citizens should care and not be asses because they are citizens/participants of a socio-political structure that allows them to thrive in such large numbers, and was the foundation of such a population, and if they don't want a social structure they should live in the forest or on a farm
Which brings me to my second point, if you lived in the forest or on a farm a mass of asses would be very useful for maintaining a small communal functioning.