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It would be motivating to know cases where "everyone can act now by themselves" really worked. I don't know any. Big change usually happens through organizations lobbying for something. Organization is the keyword here. Individual change rarely makes a difference if not organized.

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Why not both? You can stop personally contributing to the problem while you also advocate for system-level changes. Also, there's likely personal benefit (e.g., improved health, decreased cost) that comes with making these changes.

I agree. But without tools, marketing, lobbying, policy-making, etc., it's hard to make lasting changes.

Don't worry about lasting change, worry about what your contribution to the problem is. I think the veg*n community is a good example where a proportionately small group of people stuck to personal commitments to not eat meat or animal products, and have (decades later) gotten mainstream acceptance for that. You can now have a vegan meal at Burger King, but only because a group of people weren't worried about making lasting change they were just worried about living in line with their values :)

> organizations lobbying for something

The more generic term is politics.

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