zlacker

Society improves due to ideas, influence and technological change. In a democracy, everyone has notionally equal potential and responsibility for society's improvement whether they are currently powerful or not. Power can be moved around if someone new is obviously a better wielder of it. The powerful have special responsibilities but 'fixing' things isn't one of them. That is a shared responsibility. The powerless also have a responsibility to talk, argue and come to agreement on how to improve things.

I don't know what you mean when you say privilege. It is a very broad word. The powerful being privileged is something of a tautology, but the privileged are not necessarily powerful.

>>roenxi+(OP)
I appreciate your response and the nuances you're striking. Nevertheless, this still feels like splitting hairs and/or not seeing the forest from the trees. Powerful people have always had extra influence over societal changes. Someone working 70-80hrs/wk striving to make ends meet has far less time or ability to develop ideas or drive influence, as do people with little education or with health conditions, people shut out of certain parts of society, etc. Meanwhile someone born into privilege with time, connections, education, and wealth can participate in this game of ideas and influence and become a better wielder of those.

What I said before didn't imply people without power do not also have responsibilities, just that those with power have more, because of their position in society. Part (perhaps much) of that responsibility is to work towards a better society; I used 'fixing' as shorthand for this. In the US that is 'a more perfect union' but there are other concepts enshrined in other countries. I don't think this is a particularly controversial position to take.

Similarly the concept of 'with power comes responsibility' reappears throughout human history and I don't think is controversial.

Maybe we're in agreement on this, I can't tell from the way you're picking things apart. Anyway, I'm going to politely bow out.