The world that we live in is far from perfect. Human development and national pursuit of capital are destroying the planet at an unprecedented rate, the lives of innocent children are taken to satisfy corporate and statist greed, gun violence in America is at an all time high and people are being desensitized to these violences because they have become so commonplace. Noticing all of the glaring atrocities in our world, people around the world have begun to bring awareness to them and try to counteract them.

Not everybody is in a place where they can actively stand up to authority by being part of an international fund to help disadvantaged people, work for a think tank that can stand up to the system or protest on the front lawn of the White House. Even if you cannot partake in physical, tangible acts of protest you can still make a difference through your own criticisms.

Real change is brought about when individuals critique and curtail their environment and surroundings to better fit their world views. Getting lost in the belief that one person can’t make any substantial change deters anybody from making change. 

Where would the world be if not for individuals like Stanislav Petrov who saved the world from nuclear destruction single handedly? Individuals like Hegel, Marx, Lenin, Hobbes and countless others have influenced the entire world with their philosophies and they all had very few people to back them during their respective eras.

That’s not to say that in order to make an influence you have to establish a new philosophical doctrine or start a revolution; the entire notion of this thesis is to say otherwise. The point is that every protest, every movement and push for change is started with a single person believing that they can make a difference.

If everybody believed that their voice wasn’t enough to make a change, the world would get nowhere. Not everybody needs to establish their own radical revolutionary theory either; the solution can be as simple as correcting mistakes people make around you that could harm others physically or emotionally. 

No matter how minuscule the correction or criticism, it makes a difference to somebody. That person who you helped and the person you corrected are just two out of millions around the world who are on your path to making a difference.