In examining potential ways to help the weak, we can turn to history, and examine documented examples of the weak fighting back.  The most spectacular example of this is the movement led by Gandhi against the British.  In deciphering this movement, I am going to use as my primary source a most remarkable book called "Discovery of India" written by Gandhi's most famous disciple ~ Jawaharlal Nehru, who was also India's first Prime Minister.  

First, let us consider the mental state of the "weak".   Societies, like individuals, have a mental psyche.  A people can be strong, confident, and willing to take on difficult problems, or they can be demoralized, weak, and with a slave mentality (or anything in between).  Perhaps the best comparison between a "weak" people who have been oppressed for many years is a woman who has been battered by her partner for many years ~ fear is the dominant emotion, and most of their actions would not be considered rational by normal people who have not been subjected to that kind of treatment.  Perhaps you have read reports from Darfur, where the Janjaweed pick off the Africans who are numerically superior, and wondered why the Africans do not fight back.  Perhaps you have wondered why a small country like Britain could lord over so many people around the world in such barbaric fashion for so long, and they did not fight back ?  Fear is the one-word answer.  Fear can become a dominant emotion, and paralyze all thought and action.

Gandhi's genius was in recognizing this, and in providing a method to break this cycle of fear.  He did this with a very simple formula, one that you will instantly recognize as being the word of God
(1)    If you look at history with a long enough arc, things always get better, and the truth always prevails.
(2)    Therefore, if you align yourself with the "truth", then you will end up on the victorious side.  There is no doubt about that
It gets a little bit more complicated from that point, but let us stop here and consider the beauty and simplicity of this.  In order to even the playing field between the weak and the strong, you have to break the fear psyche.  You can break the fear psyche by providing a message of hope, by singing hopeful songs (We shall overcome...someday), or by giving hopeful speeches (I have a dream, We have nothing to fear but fear itself), or by invoking religion.  But the most effective way to break the fear psyche is to prove that the fear is unfounded, and to provide a positive action frame for the people to undertake.  This message was the crown jewel of all that Gandhi taught (it is such a shame that most people associate him with other things).  
Let us now consider the more complicated issue of the "truth":  what is the truth ?  What is true to one person need not be true to another.  How does one go about aligning with the truth.  I am sure you were snickering with these questions when you read about Gandhi's word from God.  Gandhi, of course, had a very good answer to these questions as well (or else he would not have been very successful, would he ?)
(3)    It does not matter if there is a universal truth, or if the truths as you see it corresponds to the universal truth.  All that matters is that you have done all that you possibly can to discover that truth for yourself, and that you act according to your version of the truth as best as you can.
Problem solved!

I hope you will take a moment to reflect on the simple 3 step program to break the fear psychosis: If you do the best that you possibly can to discover the truth, and your actions are guided by that truth to the best of your abilities, then you will end up (guaranteed) on the side of the winners, and you have nothing to fear in life.  According to Nehru, of all the people he knew, Gandhi was the most extreme in following point number 3.

The next step in breaking the imbalance between the strong and the weak is to get the strong to change their actions.  There are two ways of approaching this: either you fight, or you turn a mirror on the strong.  Gandhi's preferred approach was turning a mirror on the strong (the Britishers).  The idea behind this approach is that noone (and no people) are inherently evil; and that they can perform evil deeds only when the impact of their actions are not displayed in front of them.  Thus, the Britishers could exploit the Indians (and the Kenyans, the Burmans, etc etc.) only when they did not know the cost of that exploitation on the Indian.  When that cost was displayed for them, then it became impossible to continue that exploitation.  Individuals, and peoples, go to extreme lengths to build up facades in order to justify the exploitation ~ for the British, the dominant narrative was that they were bringing civilization to the natives.  Gandhi's tactic was to act civilized, and to thereby undercut the need for bringing civilization to the natives.  With this "turn the mirror on them" approach, the British gradually came to accept that they had to leave.

At this point, I should also acknowledge that the fighters may also have had something to do with the British decision to leave India.  Certainly, there are many historians who believe that, and I do not dispute the role played by the people who chose to fight.  However, the big advantage of the "turn the mirror on them" approach is that both sides can continue to be friends (the British left India as friends), which is conducive to furthering the cause of humanity.

I should stop here, and summarize the simple 3 step process for fighting back.

(1)  The truth always wins
(2) If you follow the path of the truth, then you will win.  Therefore, you have nothing to fear.
(3) The truth may be elusive, but as long as you do your best to seek the truth, and then do your best to act accordingly, you will end up victorious, and you have nothing to fear.

That, I would submit, is the way to help the weak fight back.  That is also how we can build institutions that can mitigate against the increased impact of adverse globalization effects (I will discuss that issue in my next diary)