In case of politicians, they represent the interest of the people, as the people elects them. If suddenly everyone went off grid to force change they would feel more inclined to make changes in this direction.

Of course they would lag a bit behind so you would see it immediately but they notice the trends.

If suddenly the issue that would sway swing state was climate change (because everyone suddenly show they care in their consumption habits), every politician would promise greener policies.

I agree that this choice implies that one is free to take the greener products, while in reality only the richest are free to choose.

You always see this opinion on reddit and lemmy that corporate greed is the root of all evil in a vacuum.

It feels good cause it removes any guilt from the individual, but at the end of the day corporation provides good and service to the society. If people stopped using AI, eating meat, wanting SUV etc, corporation would turn to others products.