Thats why I think voting is stil useful, is it doesn't take much time. So the effort versus reward is worth it, especially at the local level.. where I think democracy actually works very well.
Here are some examples of other things.. Unionization, the workers organize for better wages and working conditions. Instead of voting for a politician they hope will raise the minimum wage and increase regulations on working conditions. The power the union workers have is they can just not work, and wait for key moments where they have a stronger bargaining position.
Christian organizations could do the same thing if they wanted.
But that is only the beginning.. Imagine you are a manager you can choose to only hire people who share your views. Its especially effective in the government itself. Thats why the leftwing people have such control in the government and organizations like churches. Lenin's books teach how you organize and promote each other. So it doesn't take long before the entire upper hierarchy is people who share the same general beliefs.
Sending money to gruops like Cato and heritage foundation imo is also worthwhile. Especially when the politicians are limiting what individuals can send. What they are doing is grooming young kids with potential who share their views.. Then getting them very high up internships and positions early in their careers. So they have a huge advantage over their peers who are not connected.
Then of course there is so many things we do that shape the marketplace.. Like if you are in a religious group, and a store starts carrying things you think hurt the community.. Boycotting unless they meet demands. Or if you are smart making small demands over time that they can meet.
Once you start thinking in this way you can think of lots of other ways to influence events, without going through the politicians at all.
I read an anecdote from an older media guy from Europe who was talking about how they used to get viewpoints from America in the 50's.
They'd talk to the leaders of society.. who included the major united labor leaders, the chamber of commerce leaders, the major religious group leaders.. and the governmental leaders.
Today they just get the opinion of the politicians.
Excellent ideas. I Iike the idea of starting small. The left is excellent at incrementalism. They know Rome wasn't built in a day. I hope your are in some sort of political position. Thanks for your response.