In reality, it is the movements at the bottom of the pyramid that direct development. The men at the top know that. That is why they spend so much time trying to manipulate public consciousness. Basically, the men at the top have a weak position. They can only try to influence what happens at the grass roots from a distance.
Some environmentalists think that it is possible to climb to the top and then change development.
I believe that is wrong. Organised mass movements cannot imitate their adversaries and take over their instruments of power. With statistical certainty, such attempts end with the activists acting just like the people they were opposed to at the beginning. The strength of popular movements lies precisely in their underdog position. They live and work among those who decide the course of history.