with democracy acting like a smokescreen for the voters - to give them an illusion of control, and to prevent them from revolting.

Voting prevents revolts in the same sense that a hydroelectric dam prevents floods. It's not a matter of stopping up the revolutionary urge; in fact, any attempt to do so would be disastrous sooner or later. Instead it provides a safe, easy channel, and in the process, captures all the power of the movement before that flow can build up enough to cause damage.

The voters can have whatever they want, and the rest of the system does it's best to stop them from wanting anything dangerous.