Manufactured consent and money in politics are more like symptoms of a deeper problem of centralized wealth. As long as megacorps are allowed to exist and dominate markets and getting super rich in general is allowed, could there be enough competition and interest to pursue fairer distribution of power and wealth through democratic means? Probably not, everyone with some wealth and power would be against it. But this does happen. In some countries certain industries are very competitive and cause people to organize and lobby to protect competition and defend the industry from power grabs, not letting centralization of wealth to take its course.

So it's more like unrestricted predatory capitalism is what destroys all those democratic ideas.