Akenaton, our "government" in the US is largely as corrupt and inefficient as "we, the people" let it be. When we act as individuals, most of us have little power, but when we pool our efforts and resources we can accomplish a lot.   If we don't get involved in our own political system, we let the private power brokers run the whole show.

And I don't recall any non-violent populist movement in history being called a "revolution" (except maybe, metaphorically, in the arts). OK, there was the "industrial revolution," but that wasn't a political one, either - just a turning point in the way humans in some parts of the world manufactured things.

So when people speak of "revolution," it seems they're usually talking about some sort of violent uprising (or at least taking up arms to defend against a tyrannical government).