The issue with democracy (which imho is by far the best political system) is that the parties can collect "donations" which (again just imho) is legalized bribing and ultimately ends up creating servants of the sponsors and not the voters.
People are not heroes. They want to be elected, hire the ones they want for their "court" (think Kings and their courts). And politicians want to change only the things that won't stop them from getting reelected.
Secondary consequences are irrelevant to many politicians' mindset.
This is not a problem if "Democracy" but of "American democracy". You dont have to accept donations. You dont have to allow bribery. Democracy is wonderfully flexible, and a law that anybody seen attempting bribery of an official (defined however you want to define that) is instantly ousted, and unable to be an executive officer at any company for a period of however many years, is completely compatible with democracy.
Good democracies are built around making it take only a single good person for a good outcome, whole requiring vast conspiracies to get a bad outcome. American democracy has failed by making it nearly impossible to do anything good, while providing the bad actors near universal access to do as they please.
I don't like Trump, but the very idea that Elon Musk should, by virtue of being the richest guy, have any leverage against him, chills me to my last democratic molecule.
People are not heroes. They want to be elected, hire the ones they want for their "court" (think Kings and their courts). And politicians want to change only the things that won't stop them from getting reelected.
Secondary consequences are irrelevant to many politicians' mindset.