The Power Of Art

i so far have often claimed that art is more powerful than politics, or economics, or a political party, or billionaire CEOs. while some would agree with this claim, others would readily laugh at this thought. they would ask, how could art, just art, be of such power? it's art, on a medium, such as sound, images, video... nothing direct, nothing tangible - not a bomb or a gun not even a rock or a stone. how could it then - effect the "real" world?
i think this questions can only be approximatedely answered - at least by me, by now.
one thing i would like to say, that the matter is that art not so much changes the world by effecting the "real" world, but the world of thinking and thinking men.
but let us get to the point.
i can say two things:
first, man, is above all other things, rational and intellectual and capable of thinking and reflection.
second, thinking and reflection and intellectual thinking can be and can be used for more powerful things than almost any force in the world.
as for the second claim, it's obvious that man is in the superior position (just saying he is; not saying whether this is rightful) to any animal by the power of thinking and intelligence.
everything, good or bad, weak or powerful, in the end was created by man's mind; our architecture, our technology - our culture, space flights, internet, satellite communication.
the power of intellect enables man to solve the most complicated situations, and civilisation verily shows this.
no matter what the problem or issue is, to use one's intellectual cabalities will amost in any case lead to better results, than to rely on other abilities; let alone the things most people would associate the closest to the direct, real world, such as muscle power and strength.
the intellect is really something "abstract" compared to what people call real world things; but it is easily to see that it is more powerful than all these things.
the first claim is harder to proof; is man really intellectual, or not a creature driven by instincts and shades of ignorance? but we see, in history, that there always was a call and a move towards and an interest in all things intellectual and brilliant; let's face it; whole cosmologies were felled, not by armies, not by popes and kings, not by natural disasters, but by lone thinkers sitting in their rooms alone and spinning their theories, such as galileo, newton, darwin, and all the others (oh, even if you're critical of some of these thinkers; you can't deny the power they had over the world in the end originated by the power of thinking).
so there was always a call for intellect and thought in the history of humans.
but, how does this relate to art? because art, in it's core, in it's root, in it's very base and shape and foundation is something highly intellectual; smart; abstract; thoughtful; mindful; full of brilliance and creativity.
maybe the power of art rises from the very fact, that while common philosophy, thoughts, debates, are rooted in concepts that still are very much tangible and related to the real world (such as social debates etc.) while art in itself relies on abstract concepts and thought.
this is the power of art; maybe you will realize this power too.
this is why art can change the world. can change everything. and even can change - the life you live.