I think I'm less pessimistic than you are but I get where you're coming from. According to Pareto (yes, that Pareto), there is a natural ebb and flow of this s

I think I'm less pessimistic than you are but I get where you're coming from. According to Pareto (yes, that Pareto), there is a natural ebb and flow of this sort of national vs self interest that exists within the ruling class. In a healthy society there is more circulation in and out of the ruling class which allows those with more of a national interest to dominate when that is necessary. If there is too much self interest within the ruling class and not enough circulation it ends up "killing the host". I would definitely recommend the book "The Machiavellians" by James Burnham for a formal survey of these sort of ideas. Pareto is one of these Machiavellians and so his work is analyzed.