00:00Why the majority loses most people in the European Union believe they cannot change society.
00:05I'm just one person. I have no power. I have no money.
00:09My small contribution won't make any difference. Someone else will take care of it.
00:15Psychology calls this the diffusion of responsibility.
00:19The more people could act, the easier it becomes for everyone to wait for somebody else.
00:24The result is tragic.
00:31Most Europeans are not members of trade unions. Only about one in five employees belongs to one.
00:39Even fewer people regularly support civil society organizations, independent media, environmental initiatives, or organizations defending their interests.
00:50Instead of doing a little, they do nothing.
00:53Meanwhile, those with economic power understand something the majority does not.
00:58Power is an investment.
01:01Large corporations, billionaires, and financial groups continuously invest in lobbyists, lawyers, think tanks, media, advertising,
01:12political campaigns, and digital platforms that shape what people see, hear, discuss, and ultimately vote for.
01:20Their influence does not come only from lobbying.
01:23It also comes from controlling an enormous ecosystem of attention.
01:28Television, news media, advertising, social media, streaming platforms, entertainment, influencers, and digital content compete for people's attention every waking hour.
01:41Most of it is not political propaganda.
01:44But together it determines what millions of people think about and what they never think about.
01:52Questions like, who owns the economy?
01:55Who writes the tax laws?
01:57Why is work taxed much more heavily than wealth?
02:00Why do some people inherit billions while most inherit little or nothing?
02:06Yet we still call our system a meritocracy.
02:09This is no accident.
02:11Across the European Union, the wider corporate ecosystem of media, advertising, lobbying, public relations, think tanks, political marketing, and digital
02:22platforms represents roughly 150,200 billion euros in annual economic power.
02:30By comparison, organizations representing workers, citizens, independent journalism, democracy, and the environment currently operate with only around 30 billion euros
02:43per year.
02:44That is not a fair contest.
02:46It is a structural imbalance of power, and the stakes are enormous.
02:51The richest 1% in the European Union owns roughly 20 trillion euros in wealth.
02:58The real question is simple.
03:01Will that wealth continue to become even more concentrated, as it increasingly has in the United States?
03:08Or will a larger share gradually return to society through more progressive taxation of wealth, inheritances, and capital income?
03:18Ordinary people should learn from the wealthy.
03:21They should invest collectively in protecting their own interests.
03:25Imagine if every working European invested 1% of their disposable income in trade unions, and another 1% in
03:35civil society organizations of their choice.
03:38Just 2%.
03:4020 euros per month if you earn 1,000 euros.
03:4440 euros if you earn 2,000 euros.
03:4760 euros if you earn 3,000 euros.
03:49You would not have to attend protests every week.
03:53You would simply set up a few automatic monthly payments.
03:56Across the European Union, this would generate roughly 200 billion euros every year.
04:03Together with the existing 30 billion euros, organizations representing the majority would suddenly have around 230 billion euros annually,
04:14comparable to the corporate ecosystem that currently dominates public attention and political influence.
04:21For the first time, the playing field would become roughly level.
04:26It would become possible to finance tens of thousands of union organizers, lawyers, economists, researchers, educators, community organizers, independent journalists,
04:40investigators, and policy experts.
04:43It would become possible to build powerful, independent media.
04:48To explain economics and taxation.
04:51To expose corruption.
04:54To organize workplaces.
04:56To challenge harmful laws.
04:58To strengthen democracy itself.
05:01And this would only be the beginning.
05:03EU member states collect more than 7 trillion euros every year in taxes and social contributions.
05:11Political power decides how that money is spent.
05:15Hundreds of millions of organized citizens could fundamentally change those decisions.
05:22Lower taxes on work.
05:24Higher taxes on large fortunes and capital income.
05:28Better health care.
05:30Better education.
05:31Affordable housing.
05:33Clean energy.
05:34Higher wages.
05:36Stronger labor rights.
05:38Greater economic security.
05:39Those 2% would not be an expense.
05:43They would be one of the best investments people could ever make.
05:47The wealthiest 1% does not win because it is stronger.
05:52It wins because it is organized.
05:54The majority loses because it remains fragmented.
05:58What if we stopped waiting?
06:00Europe could change dramatically within 10 years.
06:04Not because everyone suddenly did everything.
06:07But because millions of Europeans made one simple decision.
06:11To invest together.
06:13The worst thing that could happen is that you spend 2% of your income.
06:18The best thing that could happen is that you help build a society you no longer fear.
06:23But one you genuinely look forward to.
06:26The world is exactly what we make it.
06:30If you do not invest in changing society, those who already hold power will continue investing in changing it for
06:38their own benefit.
06:40Apathy is not neutrality.
06:42It has a price.
06:43It has a price.
06:447.
