The magic word “change” get bandied about a great deal, especially in the world of politics, and has come to represent everbody’s hopes and dreams for progress of all kinds in the public consciousness. In that context, the desire for change is universal. There is not a citizen of a democracy in the world who think the society in which they live is perfect the way it is at this exact moment. Whether the changes you desire are based on a vision of the future or a longing for a lost world of the past, everybody wants to change something.

And yet, it seems nothing ever really changes that much, and what does change doesn’t seem to have anything to do with who we vote for or what laws are passed. Why is this? The people in power, the ones who benefit from things staying the same, seem to have nothing to fear. It’s like they have tricked us into doing exactly what they want us to do and we simply can’t see the strings they use to control us.

But how could they do that, in the age of the Internet, Wikileaks, and democracy?

Easy. They get us focused on politics, and politics only affect government (and that, only weakly), and government rarely changes anything.

Now, I am no libertarian, shouting at you to forgo the evil Gubmint and all its trappings of evil Regulation and Intervention and save your freedom loving soul from a New World Order Mark of the Beast future. Government intervention is absolutely required in myriad aspects of society merely to keep the wheels of modern democratic capitalist society going, let alone make modern life worth living. People who are against all forms of government intervention should have their homes taken over by the Crips.

But despite the impression that one gets from the news media, the history books, and practically everything else in our culture, most important social change comes not from a change in law, policy, or political party, but from the people and the innovations and modifications they come up with in their daily struggles to cope with everyday life in their times.

Those who truly desire change have to go where change truly comes from : the world of business.

Surprised? Expecting something like “activism” or “public education” or “consciousness raising”? Not likely. Those have their place and historically, they have done much good. But the rate of success is very low, and for the Powers That Be who don’t want THEIR world to change, nothing could please them more than to see all the idealistic young people and change-minded parents of the world wasting all their earnestness and enthusiasm on political activism, which is based on competing with dozens of other special interest groups for the attention of a very small group of politicians for a chance to MAYBE make your case better than the extremely high paid lobbyists that said Powers That Be hired to pester politicians full time, instead of doing the other things that might actually change something.

Like learning how the world of business works. The Powers That Be’s base of power is not simply their superior access to and influence over politicians. The real crux of their power, the spell that conceals their kingdom, is the widespread belief that the world of business is boring, complicated, unsexy, uncool, conservative, and nothing that a liberal-minded person would be even slightly interested in, let alone comfortable with.

But the world of business is the world of money, and money is power. The Powers That Be don’t give a damn what we do with our votes because they control the money. The real lever of power is who has the currency to make their will be done, and right now, the vast majority of that power lies within the boring, stodgy, conformist, no-fun world of business.

As long as that remains true, nothing will truly change. The poor will get poorer, the rich will get richer, billions will live and die in wretched, squalid horror all over the world, and we will all be too busy doing fun things like having rallies and waving signs and participating in marches and online discussions, convinced we are Doing Something, when in reality, we are just doing what we like to do and counting it anyhow.

So if you are serious about wanting to change the world and make it better place, don’t protest the G6, shout things at rallies, get your degree in Political Science, or fall for any of the other easy and tempting traps for your energy and enthusiasm that the world of liberal activism innocently offers.

Instead, get a haircut and a nice looking suit, get your MBA, and take these bastards on in the world in which they live : the world of business and money.

It won’t be sexy or fun or make anyone think you are cool.

But if you truly want to change how things work, you will be willing to sacrifice all that for results.