In view of President Obama's reaction to the recent Supreme Court ruling overturning restrictions on campaign financing and the on-going debate in Germany on political contributions, I started thinking whether the term 'democracy' adequately describes the system we live in today. The term 'democracy' dates back to the ancient Greek city-states and is a combination of 'demos' (people) and 'kratos' (power). Does 'power to the people' still apply?

In many countries lobbying, which aims to influence decisions by the government (i.e. elected representatives of the people), is on the rise. More and more political parties are being accused of client politics. Lobbying is effectively political advertising.

Classical advertising on the other hand, is a paid message meant to persuade its viewers/readers/listeners, i.e. people, about a particular point-of-view or to do something.

Lobbyist and advertiser are often the same. The same corporation, which aims to influence governmental decisions to facilitate business and ultimately increase profits through lobbying, uses advertising to influence consumer decisions in their favor, thereby increasing profits as well.

That sounds like 'lobbycracy' and not like 'power to the people' to me. Am I being too sarcastic?