"if it's true that "the electorate is too ignorant" (etc.), it is because they are kept that way. Which places the blame for the alleged ignorance on those who wilfully use their wealth and power to mislead the electorate."

Exactly. That is the essential problem. People end up believing what they are told, and what they are told (by way of the mass media) is intended to keep them deluded and obedient to the very small elite which commands power.