Power or GTFO
Many people care about social injustices, but few can actually change anything. The dominant narrative says that each individual is responsible for transforming society, but in practice, most individual efforts do not have a significant impact. Without money, influence, or access to the right mechanisms, any effort ends up being merely symbolic—a personal drain with no real effect on the world.
If you don't have power, the most you can do is complain and get frustrated while the narrative consumes your life. Believing that small individual actions can solve structural problems is a strategic mistake. The reality is simple: without real leverage, what you do won’t change anything in the long run.
Only take these baits if you have enough to spare
Philanthropy? Short-term and localized impact.
Supporting individuals? It only changes their lives and the lives of those around them, with no collective transformation.
Encouraging people to study the topic? It doesn’t lead to action.
Does this mean no one should try to change anything? Not necessarily. But it means that if you truly want to make an impact, the first step is not to get involved in the cause—it's to build power. Without that, any involvement is unproductive and simply drains your energy.
How to Build Power Before Trying to Change Anything
If your goal is to make a real difference, then you need to first have the means to do so. Power comes, essentially, from three sources:
Money – With enough capital, you can finance strategic changes and create structural solutions.
Influence – If you have access to the right people or build a relevant audience, you can guide decisions and actions on a larger scale.
Impactful Assets – Creating something that encourages change through the self-interest of those involved can be more efficient than convincing them.
A viable alternative for those who don’t have their own power but want to get involved is to work on projects led by people who already have the necessary means. If there’s someone with money and influence trying to implement real change, offering your labor can be a shortcut to participating in something bigger without having to build everything from scratch. This allows you to learn, gain experience, and even increase your own power in the process.
The question to ask yourself is not, "How can I change this now?" but rather, "How can I position my life in a way that makes changing something viable and efficient?"
This doesn’t mean that anyone without power should ignore social issues, but it does mean that their involvement can’t be emotional and unproductive. Worrying without the capacity to act is just becoming another piece in the game of those who actually have control.
If the solution requires decades of effort for an uncertain outcome, it's not worth it. If the necessary action can’t be taken without resources or influence, then spending energy before acquiring those means is ineffective. The logical path is simple: those who care about social change must first care about getting into the right position to influence it.
Until then, getting involved only leads to frustration, wasted time, and, ironically, less ability to actually make a difference in the future. You're better off not worrying about it since it's beyond your control.
image https://pixabay.com/pt/illustrations/social-m%C3%ADdia-social-internet-rede-6702058/