Since the governments are in the pockets of businesses, who’s going to control this most powerful institution? Business is more powerful than politics, and it’s more powerful than religion. So it’s going to have to be the vigilante consumer.

Roddick argues that modern power has shifted away from traditional authorities—government and organized religion—toward large corporations. If regulators are captured by business interests (“in the pockets”), then democratic oversight weakens and formal checks on corporate behavior fail. Her proposed counterweight is the “vigilante consumer”: ordinary people using purchasing choices, boycotts, and public pressure to reward ethical firms and punish abusive ones. The line reflects Roddick’s long-standing activism through The Body Shop—linking commerce to human rights, environmentalism, and anti–animal testing campaigns—and frames consumer action as a form of civic responsibility when institutional politics is ineffective.