I believe that politicians are elected to manage the common good, but what is sad is that it's not what they're always doing. As activists, we spend so much energy trying to convince the people, because we know they will move only if the people are in agreement with some of the suggestions we're making.
In a way, it's not normal for citizens like us to be spending all of our energy trying to move public opinion toward what really represents the common good. Unless that happens, I think, nothing will change, unless the population, or at least a good portion of the population, backs this shift toward reducing poverty.