You're assuming that political elites all care more about the general population (which as you've noted, there is a large, expendable surplus of) than consolida

You're assuming that political elites all care more about the general population (which as you've noted, there is a large, expendable surplus of) than consolidating and increasing their own power. To clarify, I don't think COVID19 was a Chinese conspiracy, just making note of historically self evident incentive structures that others seem naively oblivious to.