In the grand scheme of things, there is not a whole lot that the Individual can do to make change. Only the ambitious ever make it into positions of real power that can affect on a large scale, meaningful way the lives of a significant number of people. This, however, does not mean that an Individual's actions are meaningless and that the day-to-day choices one makes have no consequences beyond the narrow sphere in which one's daily life is centered. You're choices make a difference on a material level: the amount of resources used and the waste management required after they are consumed; and they also make a difference on a psychic level: the example you set for those that surround you and possibly look up to you. This is why I don't think one should ever simply write themselves off as powerless. Collective action is simply the result of an aggregate of Individuals acting or thinking in a certain way, which can eventually add up to a significant majority.
Below is an interesting article about the International Drug Trade and the Individual's culpability in the destruction and death that is the result of a seemingly meaningless, selfish choice that, on the surface appears to be nothing but a Self-destructive decision, but, when aggregated, grows to have world wide implications. I'm not trying to be preachy, just presenting the facts.
The Boycott We Need: Walter Russell Mead
