Ask HN: Any evidence that our elected officials aren't calling the shots?

Many people seem to have an intuition that in democratic countries there are small groups of anonymous, powerful people who decide on the path forward (eg. deep state)

Yes there is lobbying, but is there any proof of more concentrated groups of people deciding what goes?

Given the horrific lengths gone to attain power, it seems naive to assume this has left western democracies untouched.