Those who have ready money in large quantities, and who believe they can get what they want by spending it freely in the game, are not necessarily evil people. But neither are they philanthropists bringing gifts to charitable institutions. They simply want something and believe they can buy it, however much this has to be made to look like some other kind of transaction. This undeniably is a fundamental contradiction of the essence of democracy. In sufficient volume, it becomes subversion.
Campaign finance is a classic case.
But cleaning it up pits the people against determined and resourceful operators with money to spend, and politicians caught in the trap of competition with each other. The providers of big money are not so simple. That is why they have big money to spend. They see this philosophic division as tactical, not strategic. But the name of the big contributor's game is to have backed the winner.