[martinflack]

Here's a (cynical) quote describing modern US politics:

The United States is a corporate oligarchy pretending to be a two-party dictatorship pretending to be a representative democracy.

That's the sort of thing meant, I think. There are layers and in this quote the implication is that the fat and happy people are at the outer layer (they think the levers of power of a representative democracy are still valid ways to control the country), and others can see past that into the other two layers behind it.

[logfromblammo]

That's about the size of it.

Most people are happy just to vote. Some people try to channel the overall direction of the vote via party politics. A handful of people know that the election is merely to choose between different means to exactly the same end.

The people can vote to name the ship Boaty McBoatface. The owner will name it something else. It will steer the same course without regard to its name or to the orientation of its deck chairs.