It is a great irony that Democracy, far from empowering the citizenry, has fooled them into helplessness. A mad king can, and has been, beheaded in the town square. Democracy has fooled people into thinking they are “really in charge,” and at the same time left them filled with impotent rage. This cognitive dissonance was neither designed or anticipated by the democrats, but it is a reality all the same.

The punishment for being voted out of office is typically a cushy no-show job that pays more than the Congressional salary and in some cases wields more effective power.

Mr. Very Important does have a pair of bullets up his sleeve, sad to say, and our hero soon finds out a frightening truth: the Face of the Government is a separate entity from the Body. Power in this realm is not straightforward, and it rarely produces straight lines. It has a life of its own, a momentum. Its inertia can carry it past the intentions of those who attempt to wield it.

Well-meaning people would be astonished to discover just how quickly their friendly, milquetoast gas station owner-turned-Congressman discovers his vast, irreplaceable importance. Sure, he may have been a bigwig back in Anytown, USA, but now? Now Very Important People demand his attention and seek his favor. The little people disappear, and the Forgotten Man resumes his place as a tax cow or, as our hero points out, takes his place on the combat lines in a foreign adventure 5,000 miles from home.

Until now. Mr. Very Important is reminded that he is not invincible. He is not a god. In fact, standing in front of a representative of the Forgotten Man, he is powerless.

Our nameless hero has decided to take action, and like you, he knows where to start: he followed the money. He could have just as easily followed his nose, to the scent of shame and bad decisions.

Does it seem a little unrealistic, Dear Reader? A decrepit old codger, a pleasure girl masquerading as a “policy staffer”? Think again. Fire up your most trusted search engine and read about the Congressional sexual harassment slush fund.

One of the great debates of the ages centers around the type of men who rise to the top of a State. Are they already evil before they get there, or are they dewey-eyed do-gooders who become victims themselves? Hayek was pretty certain that, at least in a Democracy, the worst type of demagogues and liars would rise to the top, since that’s what the system incentivizes candidates for office to do.

One thing is certain: Those who are Good when they arrive lose their innocence once they decide to partake in the secrets, and act as a protection racket for those others who arrived with malicious intent right off the bat. It is a well-oiled, well-considered machine. But like all other machines, this one can also be broken.

Washington, DC. No bigger hive of scum and villainy, someone once said. What’s really striking to those who spend time in the belly of the beast is the absence of “The People.” Not just in a physical sense, either. Particularly when it comes to foreign policy, you won’t hear a politician or staffer mention the possible consequences—or even the benefits—for “The People.” They simply don’t factor in.

But if you do talk to The People, you might find that the tale unfolding here is a fantasy that’s alive and well and more widely spread among the Hapless Fools than anyone would like to admit…