Something feels off in the way our economy works. Do you feel it too? Prices rise, small businesses struggle, people can’t afford to live, and yet corporations post record profits while the top keep getting richer. It’s hard not to see that the system serves a few at the expense of many.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Across America—and the world—people are stepping back from the systems driving overconsumption and inequality to push for real economic change. Movements like Blackout The System and The Take It Back Movement are calling for collective action to generate serious economic change, from the ground up.

Change doesn’t require a total lifestyle overhaul. It begins with small, intentional choices: what we buy, what we refuse, where we spend, and who we support. Together, these decisions build community resilience and begin to shift us toward a more sustainable system, one grounded in wellbeing over growth.

As these movements remind us, our economic choices are civic choices. Let’s look at what’s driving the call for economic change and why it matters now.

The Problem: An Economy That No Longer Serves Us

Our economy no longer works for most people. Wages stagnate while costs rise. Workers produce record value, yet can’t afford basic needs. Meanwhile, wealth concentrates upward into the hands of a few corporations and investors, who profit from every transaction.

The Take It Back Movement and Blackout the System call this what it is: greed at the top, not failure at the bottom. As they put it, “It’s not left vs right—it’s up vs down.”

This isn’t about individual spending habits or who skips lattes. It’s about systems designed to extract wealth from communities and funnel it upward. As another slogan says, “Greed is the disease. Everything else is just a symptom.”

When essential goods—housing, food, healthcare, education—are treated as profit opportunities instead of shared needs, the result is inequality and instability. That’s why people are pushing for economic change: an economy built to serve people and planet, not exploit them.

The Solution: How We Can Change the System

The first step in creating economic change is realizing that small, coordinated actions have power. Each decision—what we buy, where we spend, how we engage with our communities—adds up when millions of people act together.

The principle is: Collective, intentional action can shift power away from corporations and toward people.

Change doesn’t mean living without or giving up every convenience. It means making conscious choices that support economic justice and community resilience. Simple actions like choosing small businesses over global chains, refusing unnecessary purchases, or participating in coordinated boycotts can create real impact. Even a single day of collective action, like the People’s Union economic blackouts, can send a message that people will not be passive participants in systems that exploit them.

This approach also leads to—and requires—stronger communities. When we focus our time, money, and energy on neighbors, local businesses, and shared resources, we strengthen the local economy and create networks that are resilient in times of crisis. It’s the same principle I wrote about in an earlier post, Resilience in Times of Crisis, where I talk about diversifying your support systems and reducing dependence on fragile, extractive systems.

Ultimately, creating economic change starts with understanding your own power as a consumer and citizen. Every intentional action nudges the system toward fairness and sustainability.

7 Actions You Can Take Today to Drive Economic Change

You don’t need to quit your job or move off-grid to make a difference. These simple steps let you start participating in collective action right now that will drive economic change.

1. Start with a Sticker

Both Blackout The System and The Take It Back Movement provide free stickers to show support and gather more people to the movement. Put one up in your community, take a photo, and share it online. It’s a small, visible act that spreads the shared language, putting words to the problems that many of us have noticed, but don’t know how to address.

I’ve included a few graphics at the end of this post, created by Blackout the System. They are free to use to spread the word in your communities.

2. Participate in a Blackout

Join the next scheduled economic blackout. Are you reading this before December 2025? Check out The Mass Blackout November 25 – December 2, 2025.

To avoid spending spikes before and after the event, prepare by stocking up from local businesses, rather than simply shifting the timing of your purchases. Even partial participation contributes to the movement.

3. Support Local Businesses

When you do spend, prioritize local shops, co-ops, and second-hand options. Keeping money circulating locally strengthens community resilience and builds an economy that works for people, not corporations.

Spend ten minutes researching local businesses that could fill a future need of yours. Consider:

• Local nursery or native plant grower
• Independent bookstore
• Neighborhood coffee shop or bakery
• Second-hand or vintage shop
• Worker-owned co-op or food co-op

4. Engage Online and in Person

Share the movements’ messages on social media, comment in forums, or post about your participation. Talk with your friends and family about what you’re doing, or give them extra stickers or fliers. Using shared language like “It’s not left vs right—it’s up vs down” helps normalize civic economic action.

5. Participate in Targeted Boycotts

Find current and ongoing targeted boycotts here: Ethical Consumer.

Also, look at the companies behind the products you buy regularly. If their practices don’t align with your values, find alternatives. Apps like Goods Unite Us and Yucca make it easier to track brands and make conscious purchasing decisions.

6. Host or Join Community Actions

Small, local gatherings like skill swaps, repair cafes, and neighborhood discussions strengthen connections and build alternatives to centralized systems. They also help recruit others into collective economic action. Find your own local groups, or get connected to local communities through one of the national movements. 

7. Vote with Your Wallet Every Day

Long-term change comes from consistent choices. Be conscious of your spending, choose sustainable and ethical options, and encourage friends and family to do the same. Over time, these choices shape the local economy and reinforce movements pushing for economic change.

And remember, perfect is the enemy of good. You don’t have to do everything on this list, or go in one hundred percent to make a positive change. Just do something.

The nature of the problem—oppression of the masses—is exactly what makes change so difficult. Money, time, and energy are scarce, and people are struggling. But everyone can do something. It’s about stacked impact—not some of us giving it our all, but all of us giving it some.

Why Your Actions Matter

These actions aren’t about political posturing or just making a statement. They’re about reclaiming our collective power and building systems that actually serve people and communities.

The current economy prioritizes profit over wellbeing, leaving most people and small businesses behind. Participating in movements like Blackout The System and The Take It Back Movement is a way to counter that imbalance and advance real economic change.

Small, coordinated actions create ripple effects. When people reduce spending, redirect resources to local businesses, or engage in civic economic action, they strengthen the local economy, reduce dependence on extractive and exploitative systems, and create community resilience.

These are the same principles we rely on in permaculture and sustainable design: thoughtful, deliberate actions that grow stronger systems over time.

Closing: Take Back Your Power

The system only works because we keep it running. Every purchase, every day, every moment of participation gives it power. But remember, that power is in your hands. You don’t need to wait for anyone else to start making change—every small action adds up.

Start today. Order a sticker, support a local small business, forego a single purchase, or share the message online. These choices may seem small, but together as more and more people join in, they form a collective force capable of shifting the balance.

Take it back. The economy only works when we consent—and we can choose to withhold that consent anytime.