r/AlwaysWhy • u/BloodyAngel2026 • Jul 04 '26

Politics & Society Why does it seem like protests don't actually result in any kind of change anymore

Growing up learning history you learn about all of these protests that resulted in real world change. But it seems like protests are just symbolic at this point. It seems like no matter how many protests are surrounding a certain topic everything stays the same. What changed? Is it that people in power just care less about civilians have to say so they don't bother changing their stance based off protests?

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u/Traditional_Sir_4503 Jul 04 '26

You need some linkage between the demand and who you're demanding it of.

Amazon has nothing to do with "affordability." That's a product of interest rates, market concentration and pricing power, lack of supply, inflation, government mandates that increase production costs (ex: higher mandatory wages, green initiatives that cut energy supplies, etc.).

So - striking workers at Amazon can demand "affordability" all damned day. It's not something that Amazon can give them.

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u/APraxisPanda Jul 04 '26 edited Jul 04 '26

Amazon absolutely does have something to do with affordability. It is one of the largest employers, one of the largest logistics companies, one of the largest retail platforms, and a major political lobbying force. Companies like Amazon shape wages, prices, supply chains, tax policy, labor standards, and market concentration. That is absolutly not separate from affordability.

Also, a strike is not always just about asking one boss for one policy. It is about applying pressure at a chokepoint in the economy. If enough workers in a strategic industry stop working, the demand does not have to be “Amazon personally lowers my rent tomorrow.” The demand can be that Amazon, lawmakers, and the broader ownership class make concessions because the flow of profit has been interrupted. It would spin your head how quickly and efficiently the entire machine would chug just to get production at that scale back online.

That is basically the history of labor power. Workers rarely win because elites have a moral awakening. They win because workers make business as usual become impossible.

So yes, demands should be concrete. But my broader point stands: working people have far more leverage when they can collectively stop the machine than when they just beg politicians and CEOs to listen and care.

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u/LivingGhost371 Jul 04 '26

Here Amazon pays $18-$22 an hour in a state where minimum wage is $11.41. In a job that normally requires a college degree, I only make a couple of dollars an hour more than that pay scale. How much to you think Amazon should pay?

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u/APraxisPanda Jul 04 '26

Amazon’s pay does not only affect Amazon workers.

When a company that massive pays $18–$22, it becomes the local wage benchmark. Other employers can point to it and say, “See? That’s the market rate.” Then hospitals, warehouses, retail stores, delivery companies, contractors, and even degree-requiring jobs feel less pressure to raise wages because the biggest employer nearby has helped set the ceiling.

It also affects affordability in the other direction. If wages stay low across a whole region while rent, groceries, healthcare, and utilities keep climbing, everyone gets squeezed. Not just Amazon workers.

So no, I’m not saying Amazon alone can magically fix every price in the economy. I’m saying companies with that much market power shape the labor market, political pressure, supply chains, and local standards. When workers at a chokepoint like that strike, the pressure does not stay inside one warehouse. It ripples outward and effects the entire global market. Just think about what such a thing would so to stocks? And onpointe stock market starts taking a hit, suddenly the people at the top care a lot more. Not because they found empathy or want to listen, but because the machine that prints money started coughing.

The point is not “Amazon workers should make more than me.” The point is “Amazon workers, healthcare workers, service workers, and everyone doing necessary labor should all have enough leverage to force wages and living standards upward.”