The problem lies in knowing whether you actually could do better in someone's situation with the resources available to them. The ethical injunctions seem to say that humans are rather bad at figuring out when they could do better than those in power. There is only an injunction against cheating to gain power though, not against legitimate means.

To me Snowden is one of the best examples of taking heroic responsibility. All the way to potentially breaking the laws and getting into the harms way to make the world a better place.