pointless rebellion.

Why pointless? Not too far from here there is a self-selected elite that reacts with rage should anybody question them or their self-serving behaviors. That's what happens when nobody "rebels." The trick is to needle and question just enough to cause people to take a look in the mirror. Not enough needling leads to a Victorian society where the "elite" is complacent, hypocritical and increasingly irrelevant to their supposed principles. Too much and it becomes a tale of sound and fury signifying nothing. Combine this with the "every rebel is a closet dictator" tendency and the internet and we have a recipe for constant angst. ;-)