There is a progression from idealism to disillusion to professionalism to monetization. You start out with high hopes of making a real difference. That runs sm

There is a progression from idealism to disillusion to professionalism to monetization. You start out with high hopes of making a real difference. That runs smack into a complicated and compromised system, which makes you disillusioned. You try hard to figure things out and do useful things. Eventually, you understand how things work and how to make the system work for you, which makes you a political professional. Those skills are very valuable and you see your peers making a killing with them. Not wanting to be the local chump, you use the skills to your own advantage, which is monetization.