Competition
There are a thousand websites and blogs that will tell you what's wrong with the world and what needs to be changed. If you look in the right places you can even find real news and honest opinions.
When there is a call to action, they usually ask you to sign a petition, contribute to a candidate and organize for or against some government policy. Some of the time it actually works.
The campaign for Net Neutrality was a success; but the forces of darkness are busy getting up a new warchest and attempting to buy a new collection of politicians at the state level. It won't be a victory until national legislation is passed that is a positive affirmation of Net Neutrality.
We all know the problems: unemployment, medical care, education etc. -- the same problems that are mentioned whenever someone wants your vote.
We are in the habit of looking for leaders and representatives who will use the power of government to solve our problems. For some of us the only answer is to back a politician or a political party. Write a law - change a law - change the judges - and everything will be better. We've been doing this for quite a while.
The only problem with Democracy is that you need a majority to get anything done. In the traditional political process, once you get that 51%, you get to spend everyone's money on your solution. At then you need eternal vigilance to keep the minority 49% from screwing up your solution.
There are problems that can be solved without a majority.
There are things you can do alone, and there are things that require partners and associates. Among other goals, we hope to provide those who are interested with people and resources that make it possible to start a successful business. Call it a dating bureau for progressive entrepreneurs.
If you don't like the way Corporate America works, politics is the least likely way of reforming the system. Politics is a cash and carry business and you will usually be outbid, sometimes with your own money.
Under the free enterprise system, one thing you are allowed to do is to compete. If you don't like the way your insurance company treats you, you are free to start your own. Until recently, this has been a hollow kind of freedom. There is a big gap between being legally free to start a company and actually being able to create a successful enterprise.
Prior to the Internet, there was no way to contact millions of people at a reasonable cost. There was no way to enroll large numbers of people in a short time. In the last few years, about twenty million people have been down-sized, right-sized and outsourced. It's very likely that the skills needed to form any kind of company are readily available.
Why bother?
One company which insured property owners in Louisiana appears to have forced the engineers who inspected various properties to rewrite their reports in a way that disallowed valid claims. The company then denied everything and sued the whistleblowers who exposed their guilt.
There is a really great competitive niche out there for an honest insurance company. The world would be a better place if that dishonest one had some real competition. And the bottom line is that you can make a lot of money by not cheating people.
(Actually insurance is on the list, but not yet at the top of the list.)
Insurance companies have been making massive contributions to the political system - either out of the goodness of their hearts, or in hopes of windfall profits.
The beauty of free enterprise is that those profits are available to anyone who can earn them. Those who are a little annoyed at companies who make their money by bribing politicians are free to sign up. Those who feel undying loyalty to their current carrier are free to continue their current coverage.
It's called competition and it is the foundation on which the free-enterprise system is based.