Campaigns, for sure, are more marketing than discourse. Their infinitesimal silver lining is they serve as a veneer of social proof, their outcomes represent (to some) a form of legitimacy.

From monarchs to pure direct democracy, decisions have to be made. But how?

I see "government" as a kind of consensus algorithm. Policy work, adjudicating, record keeping, legislating, appropriations, etc. It's all just one big data processing machine, trying to discern signal from noise (information), hopefully learning stuff (knowledge), and occasionally acting.

For all our history, we've experimented with strategies for reducing transaction costs. Building trust, predictability, and stability.

How do you think we've done so far?

IMHO: Government, and especially bureaucracy, ain't great. But the alternative of no government isn't acceptable.