Civilizations had risen and fallen before. Humanity needed to work together, but hell was other people. When the best people were on top, things worked: they convinced the rational, cajoled the stubborn, and, frankly, forced the rest. It was for the greater good. Put one of the losers, the takers, at the top of the pile, and they'd lead the rest into catastrophe. [...]
isn't this tautological though? the "best" are the ones who are able to keep this system of hierarchy working, not the ones who are "the best" by a rational external metric