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Anthony Wilden, with whom I studied communication theory and systems theory in college, wrote a book called The Rules Are No Game. The phrase has long stuck with me as a terse encapsulation of the idea that all systems—from computer operating systems to sporting events to political systems—operate according to certain underlying rules. Those rules determine what’s possible and what’s not possible within the system and shape which outcomes are more likely or less likely.

The rules that shape our political and economic systems—favoring some interests while ignoring others, influencing who wins and who loses, who lives and who dies—those rules are certainly no game. We ignore them at our peril. When we simply try to change political outcomes without changing the rules, we put ourselves at a disadvantage. So, often, we lose.

“History is written by the winners,” it is often said. To which we must add: “The rules are written by the winners.” That’s how they keep winning. Those of us on the losing end of political contests need to pay more attention to the rules.

In the United States, the rules are supposed to enable “we the people” to govern ourselves. That’s the American Ideal, an ideal for which many people have been willing to die to protect.

In practice, the reality is quite different. This is no secret. Especially in the last three decades (since the “Reagan revolution” of 1980), the rules have been changed increasingly in favor of powerful private interests at the expense of public interests. Consequently, in 2010, such urgent matters as meaningful health care reform, energy reform, or financial reform are simply not within the realm of “political possibility,” even with President Hope&Change in the White House and a wide Democratic majority in Congress.

Put simply, powerful private interests will not allow public interests to prevail. Not if it diminishes their power or profit in any way. The rules allow them to rule.

The result is that well-organized efforts by progressives to make—well—progress on individual issues of great importance repeatedly seem to fail. Or else, beginning with the premise that “half a loaf is better than none,” political professionals proclaim in the end that a single crumb is success (as with the current health care reform “victory”).

We the people deserve better than that. We’re supposed to rule. Not settle for crumbs.

A small number of progressives have been sounding the alarm for many years on the need to change the rules (see below for examples) that enable so much corporate control over our political system. Their numbers have been growing recently due to the Supreme Court decision, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.

Will this decision be the final nail in the coffin of US democracy or a clarion call that creates a popular movement strong enough to seriously limit corporate power in US politics? We’re seeing some encouraging signs of the latter, but much more is needed.

One of the more significant efforts right now is Move to Amend, which seeks to amend the US Constitution to “firmly establish that money is not speech, and that human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutional rights.” Move to Amend brings together many groups that have been working against corporate personhood for many years, including Program on Corporations, Law & Democracy (POCLAD), Reclaim Democracy, Democracy Unlimited, and others. You can sign the petition here.

Many new efforts are popping up in response to the Supreme Court ruling as well. More than 30 groups have been created on Facebook to address the problem. These are gathered together by a coalition called We the People, which is also engaged in regional coordination to encourage on-the-ground organizing in each state and local community.

Another worthy effort is the New Rules Project, created by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, an organization that has been doing excellent community-level work for decades. Prolific author and radio host Thom Hartmann has also been sounding the alarm about corporate control for many years. His book, Unequal Protection: The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Theft of Human Rights, helped to bring the whole issue into popular consciousness. And of course, many other worthy efforts exist.

That’s a good thing, and it’s important to keep these efforts growing and building momentum. Corporate power in politics may be the single most important issue of our times, because it affects our ability to make progress on almost every other issue. It can be hard to maintain focus and motivation around because it can seem a little abstract. It’s easier for people to focus on what seem like more immediate and pressing matters—health care, the climate crisis, housing the homeless, and what have you. But unless we build a people’s movement that is large, broad-based, passionate, and strategically smart enough to successfully curb corporate power in politics, we will see all of our other efforts fail or fall far short. If we win on this one, progress on all our other issues will become much easier.

Let’s not kid ourselves: Amending the Constitution is an enormous undertaking and will take a lot of work. But it’s too important to fail.

The Supreme Court may have inadvertently lit the fire that impels people into action to reclaim our power against corporate rule. Gnawing discontent is turning into full-fledged outrage among those on the left, right, and center. Let’s organize that outrage to regain our power as We the People once and for all.