How much can I, as an individual, affect political policy?
Whenever I see something that the government is doing that I strongly disagree with, it is so frustrating because it seems to me there is virtually nothing I can do about it. How much can we realistically affect what our government does? I'm a U.S. citizen so I'm relating this to my own country's government, but I'm this issue applies to governments in general. As an individual, can you actually do anything that is going to have a significant enough effect to cause change in policy? Setting aside the obvious corruption that exists in government, and assuming governments would actually abide by the wishes of their people, it still seems to me that an individual has zero power to change things. Change requires massive groups of people to agree on something, and to care enough to go out and vote or petition or do whatever the situation requires to accomplish the goal. Realistically, what can one man actually do?
Comments (9)
Right. All ppl can do nowadays is to change themselves in a way not to rely on the governments any more. It's not right to expect anything from a system which hardly matches with your ideas..
However, societies are changing. Ppl are gathering in their own communities with their own ideologies.
It's time not to let others think instead of us. It's hard, but, at least, peaceful.
A lot.
Of course, it depends what you want to change.
Yeah.... if you control the military, no doubt >:O
Depending on the country you live and the party you choose will determine whether any of this makes any difference.
Multivariate analysis indicates that economic elites and organised groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on US government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence.
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-27074746
Or think of the many thousands of people who individually and collectively worked to reduce discrimination against gay people in the 1970s or against black people in the 1960s. A lot of the work was carried out by very small groups of people planning and acting in their local communities. Sure, there were huge political demonstrations, but that was late in the game. In the beginning, it was mostly individuals and small groups.
Individual citizens always play a role in social, civil, and political change by making choices in their personal actions that support change. An example is when individuals won't cross a picket line to shop at a store where workers are on strike. This is usually not much of a sacrifice, but it helps.
Inform yourself. Decide what kind, or what specific issue(s) you find important and urgent. Read the literature of large groups. For instance, you might check out the Nature Conservancy or Sierra Club if the environment is your issue. Find your group.
But there are always local issues which are a piece of larger issues. Maybe there are people in your immediate neighborhood that have difficulty navigating because they have mobility problems (use wheelchairs or walkers) and the city hasn't made curb cuts at the corners which enable people with mobility problems to use the sidewalks more easily. (Assuming there are sidewalks, of course -- which a lot of places don't have.) One individual becoming a thorn in the side of a city council person or city bureaucrat can often get the city to do things.
You will probably find your city and county government more accessible than the state government, and the state government will be more accessible than the federal government. That's OK, because a lot of what government does is done at the local level.