It really sounds like you're trying hard to define a square circle. Your argument isn't even self consistent because what you described sure sounds like someone has power...

Nope. It's perfectly consistent. No one has much power at all. No one is in charge, there is no greater power sitting above us all calling all (or even most) the shots. To use someone else's term, there is no cabal.

You seem to conflate "no one is powerful" with "no one has any power in any situation at all".

  > You seem to conflate "no one is powerful" with "no one has any power in any situation at all".

The problem is not this, it is your claim that all power is equal, that there is no imbalance. No one is claiming God, only men

Never said equal, just that no one has much. It's just not that hard of a claim to understand. No need to twist oneself into a pretzel.