This might be a bit tangential, but these ideas remind me of the importance of voting with ones dollars (as well as ones time). As an American I find that the freedoms I enjoy to spend my money how I like contribute far more to my sense of participating in a democracy than do my occasional trips to the voting booth.

It's the reason I can't bring myself to follow the often repeated financial advice to stick your money in an index a fund and then leave it there; I refuse to vote for the behavior so many of those companies engage in.