This seems like the same issue faced by someone who is assembling a warhead; I think all they really need to say is "Today I will [do] something that will benef

This seems like the same issue faced by someone who is assembling a warhead; I think all they really need to say is "Today I will [do] something that will benefit myself, at the expense of someone else." Specifically, in the sense that they retain their employment and means of income, and (optionally) justify their exclusion from the subset of affected persons. I think the best we can hope for is to design systems that are difficult to undermine or subvert. Distributed/mesh systems, encryption, and so on - things which at least delay the onset of corruption, centralization, and control. This is obviously a big ask, but it's also something that can be worked on by a few, instead of requiring that the many don't work towards the reverse.