You make very good points, but fail to address the fact that the vast majority of people are not concerned with the long term effects, certainly not in the future.
Most of us are thinking about our own lives and futures, about those of our immediate family and of our direct offspring.
It is little comfort to somebody in a dead end job that "CEOs will see that racial hiring practises are detrimental to productivity".
To say "your great-great grandchildren will live in a more just society" butters no parsnips.
You get one shot at this life, that's it. Gone are the days (if they ever really existed) when you could say to the poor "be virtuous, you shall have treasure in heaven".
Everybody is playing a short term game, now.
My short term game involves doing my job, keeping my head above water and keeping my kids on the path to independence in both mind and body (i.e., intellectually curious and able to bring home the bacon). I'm on a 20-year programme.
The average politician is looking to prolong his trip on the gravy train beyond the next election. He's on a three-year programme.
What's your programme?
K.