The problem with false elites -- those created by ideology not ability -- is that in addition to being wrong, they are quite literally insane. All that they do comprises internal signals designed to advance the individual in the system and has nothing to do with reality.

Witness leading moron Tom Frieden in action, as reported by Red Flag News:

Barring all incoming flights from Ebola-hit countries in West Africa might seem like the best way to prevent an outbreak of the virus in the United States, but doing so would actually hurt efforts to curb the outbreak in the long run, Tom Frieden, M.D., MPH, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said today (Oct. 2). “If we take actions that seem like they may work, they may be the kind of solution to a complex problem that is quick, simple and wrong,” said Frieden in a press conference. “The approach of isolating a country is that it’s going to make it harder to get help into that country.”

The man obviously has mental problems. When asked how to protect people in country A, he starts talking about fear of discrimination against country B. He's not even on topic. But he is sending the correct signals, namely, he is acting as if his country is so wealthy and powerful that it does not need to concern itself with self-preservation.

That signal appeases the voters, who like to hear how everything's going just fine!, and also appeases his liberal ideological comrades, who love the idea of equality and know that this can only happen through wealth transfer, thus will always discriminate against the powerful -- the whiter, maler, smarter, wealthier, healthier -- in order to advance the less capable.

If you wonder how civilizations exterminate themselves... wonder no more. They turn their focus from outward to inward, and start flattering each other and in doing so, drift farther from reality so that when collapse comes, it's a great shock and "no one" has anticipated it.