Mind the Gap: Democracy, Parties and the Business of Politics: How Power Works

by Mark Brooks

You live in a democracy. Or do you just live in its user interface?

In this fourth volume of the Mind the Gap series, Mark Brooks unpacks the great illusion of democratic participation – from ballot boxes to belief systems, from performative politics to perfectly engineered party platforms.

Mind the Democracy, Parties and the Business of Politics is a satirical deep-dive into how modern democracies operate more like brands than movements, and how influence often hides behind the scenes.

You’ll – Why voting can feel like choosing your favorite airline – just before boarding the same plane
– How public opinion is manufactured, massaged and monetized
– What Lobbyland™ is (and why it has better coffee than Parliament)
– Why political language sounds like it’s been machine-generated
– How “participation” has become a UX feature, not a power dynamic

Along the way, you’ll meet Barry, Flora, Bev and a very uncertain AI named Fizz, as they stumble through spin rooms, slogan factories and focus groups gone wrong.

With irony, empathy and existential clarity, this book connects ancient ideals with algorithmic realities – and dares to What if democracy isn’t broken… just working exactly as designed?


✅ Satirical essays and fables
✅ Fictional case studies and institutional absurdities
✅ A final checklist for staying politically sane

📘 Part of the Mind the Gap series – for readers who think critically, laugh nervously, and ask uncomfortable questions.

68 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 23, 2025

About the author

Mark Brooks is a comic book artist known for his work on titles for Marvel Comics.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Br...

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name