When you get down to the crux of it, it is because no one wants to put at risk what they already have.
If you have a low paid job, do you walk off in protest, and not get paid at all?
If you feel the banks are fucking you, are you willing to pull out all your money, cash out your mortgage or car loan?
We all see the need for change, but we are lulled into a sense of hopelessness which leads to aimlessness. We are told, change the people without changing the system, and nothing will change. But no one wants to change the system from the outside. Once you are a part of it, you have too much to lose.
A revolution doesn’t just happen. You need a larger portion of the people to be angry than are surviving/getting by/doing ok/doing well/thriving. You need a clear agenda (are we trying to fix the political system/housing/the environment/the banks) with a clear goal. People need to see the statue fall.
A revolution needs people that are willing to stop their everyday life to spend their time fighting. If everyone walks away from their jobs to protest, where will they get their food/shelter?
The only way to get a fast moving change, sadly, is through a flash point or tragedy. Something so bad, people screech to a halt and say, oh hell no. And no one wants that to happen either.