In the capitalist world it should be no surprise that those with capital have the most power, and usually win. How else, for example, could the richest family in America make its fortune from selling to the poorest in America.
However, THEY still need the rest of us to play, and that is where our minimal power comes in. There IS a way to make the bad guys pay.
Not only do we live in a capitalist society, we also live in a consumer society. And, in a consumer society our real votes come through where we spend each and every dollar. Whenever you spend a dollar you are implicitly voting for the receiver of your dollar, and helping them in their battle against other capitalists/brands.
Now of course most of us have limited financial resources and have no desire to simply spend money to buy things to support our favourite brands. Although there is the option of debt, which the capitalists are more than happy to extend, there is usually a limit to our power through the purse.
BUT there is another far less frequently used tool that we have at our disposal. It costs us only a little time, but it can cost the companies that we don't like quite a bit. Here is how to get a little more power, and make the bad guys pay.
Every time you see an ad on a web page you have an opportunity. If you click on the ad the company whose ad you clicked on has to pay google, or whomever placed the ad for them, a small amount no matter whether you buy or do not buy.
So let's say you don't like WalMart. You see an ad for WalMart on a web page. Normally you would not click on the ad, after all you don't shop at WalMart because you think they are evil. BUT, and here is the beauty of the game, if you click on the WalMart ad they have to pay for your click. The cost to you is minimal (a click). The cost to them is real (they pay for each click). The gain to them is NIL (no sale). It is the perfect subversive hit and run strategy.
The potential is there for mass action as well. If groups of people decide together to "target" a company they can pump up the marketing spending of the firm, at almost no cost, while directly impacting their bottom line to the downside.
So if you don't mind spending a minute or two a day, if you see an ad for a company you don't like, pinch them a little by clicking on it. You won't bring them down, but in this small way you cost them money, at no cost to yourself. Finally a chance to win a little. using their tools against them.
Just to give an example, one very small firm I know is paying $1 a click in an obscure market. So if someone clicked every day for a year it would cost them $365, not an insignificant amount if done by a few people acting together.
Of course many of us use AdBlock (why doesn't everyone?) so we rarely see ads. But if you would like to partake of the strategy simply open an incognito window in Chrome and search for a company or three you don't like, and get busy clicking. Spend two or three minutes a day and over a year your financial hit on the enemy will definitely add up.
ALSO: If you see an ad, say in a google search for a company you like, don't click on it. Look further down for the unpaid link. Save your liked company a bit of coin in the porcess.