The way I see it (in my childish-crayon-on-the-wall kind of way, so please bear with me) is this:
None of us live in a genuine Democracy. If we did, then yeah, perhaps the common man would have more power relative to his counterpart in Serfin' days. I mean Democracy as the ideological premise of "Government BY The People, FOR The People". Not Democracy as practised in Western Liberal countries.
For example, The United States was set up by Plutocrats, for mostly financial reasons. There were certainly some idealists involved who genuinely believed in Democracy, but the guys who got shit done were wealthy mother fuckers who really didn't give a fuck about the common man. Easier to package the whole thing as a Democratic revolution though, give some reason to the poor assed raggedy chumps to actually fight on your side. Better to continue promoting it as a Democracy afterwards too, to stop those same chumps burning down your mansions and businesses. Early Public Relations, in other words.
As the Country took shape and evolve, the people in power were the people with a lot of money. To get things done (politically) required a lot of money. It was still a Plutocracy in many ways, and the ideals of Democracy were bastardised and watered down time and again (3/5ths of a vote for black men, as one example).
In more modern times, it's STILL the wealthy and the political dynasties who control things, You STILL need money to get things done. Democratic ideals are STILL watered down and bastardised by those in power, for the purpose of maintaining and extending that power. It's STILL a Plutocracy.
What the founding fathers knew was Public Relations were important. You package your message, influence opinion, and keep score in the game by counting votes. Democratic ideals are in many ways a sop to the common man, to make him believe that he does have influence, that he does have power to change things and even that one day he can be wealthy too so he doesn't upset the status quo for fear of ruining his own chances.
Propaganda has a lot to do with this. Most textbooks will portray the Founding Fathers as idealistic Democrats sticking up for The People against the tyranny of Great Britain and its Evil King. They seldom portray them as wealthy men sticking up for their purses and willing to do anything to keep as much of their money as they could.
History has been twisted and bastardised in such a way as to show the little foibles as blips in a Glorious Road Onwards And Upwards to a more perfect Democracy, and it is used to keep people quiet, to exercise their "Power" in glorified opinion polls.
And as the standard of living has improved with technology, and with almost inconsequential stands that Idealists make where they can, so has the illusion deepened and become more "real". The People were bribed and lied to to put the "Democrats" in power, and even now they are bribed and lied to to keep them in power.
Under such a system, this is where a maxim I've read here rings truest "Rights are not granted. They are SEIZED". When was the last time the nebulous (and I think non-existant) "American People" seize any rights from their overlords and masters? And if they haven't ever, where, exactly, is this power that the common man holds?
~~~Payne: Quite aware that there are a number of generalisations, glossing over of facts and probably inaccuracy in the above. I just shat it out as the spirit took me.