But not for one homogenous hive mind. They’re marbles shooting off through the labyrinth on their own agendas. The result is the push/pull political chaotic system we see. It’s not that organizations or special interests control the government (they don’t) but some lobbyists (including many former congress members) have inordinate access and disproportionate weight in governmental policy. Add to this the agendas of those seeking re-election and you have an interest alignment chart that shifts like sand dunes and (on balance) determines a lurching sort of direction based on those agendas and pragmatic political calculations based on what is possible.

I suppose a powerful enough mathematical model (and sufficient computing power) could plot some of that out and give a good cardinal point, but that would assume that all of the agendas and touch points could be known—which I sincerely doubt.

Hence—the answer is (oddly enough) those who take the time to influence the system and perform strategic alignment with specific officials’ goals. A remarkably leveling influence in some instances and a remarkably distorting effect in others.

It ‘aint much—but it’s what we’ve got. Think of it as the democratizing effect for those with money, access and agendas that aren't lesser than their adversaries.