Really interesting post! I fully agree with regard to finding alternative means to enact change such as protesting and campaigning. FWIW I am living in France (same as OP probably) and am not voting today as I am strongly opposed to all 3 remaining candidates (all centre-right) in my commune, after my own preferred candidate was eliminated in the first round. I don't feel as though voter suppression (at least through being stricken from register or gerrymandering) is a significant issue here, though certainly there is much poorer political education available to those who are most victimised by the current system. The main problem, in my view, is a huge sense of malaise and powerlessness, especially amongst the left. I feel that campaigning to increase awareness of the root causes and create a real belief that things can be changed is the most effective way of fighting a broken system despite the weight of such seemingly slow progress in many movements.

I think there is an alternative way of considering the idea of a broken political system as an illness however.

We could take the example of a person who is carrying an illness but refuses to go see a doctor and get a diagnosis for fear of acknowledging that they are sick (maybe they think it shows personal weakness, or they are concerned it will be very serious and they will have to go through unpleasant treatment). This person could find means of treating the worst symptoms without ever looking to the root cause of the problem. In this way, they can continue their life while suffering indefinitely from mild symptoms, without ever taking the potentially unpleasant option of going through treatment to cure themselves entirely.

On the other hand, they could allow the illness to continue without treating any of the symptoms. This would cause them to increasingly suffer up to a point where they have no choice but to seek treatment, undertake wholesale changes in their lifestyle, and hopefully fully recover.

Of course, this line of thinking is extremely risky because there is no guarantee that the illness (the broken system) can be 'cured' (especially if we let it develop, as you mentioned), and it would necessitate (potentially) avoidable suffering in allowing the situation to worsen to the point where the need for significant change becomes absolutely unavoidable.