Are the "powers to be" simple comic book villains motivated by something as simple as a hatred of freedom? Why would governments across the world nearly uniform

Are the "powers to be" simple comic book villains motivated by something as simple as a hatred of freedom? Why would governments across the world nearly uniformly sabotage their own economies for something so intangible? And all acting in concert? Communist China and the capitalist USA are in this together? Game theory alone tells you that if this were deliberate and unnecessary then there would be an immense payoff to any power that decided not to wreck their economy as this would catapult them ahead of their neighbors. I am reading some unstated skepticism about the scope or severity of the pandemic in your response here, the so-called "Plandemic". I would urge you to look at this issue again, as you clearly are concerned about creeping authoritarianism, but feel you are making a serious attribution error here.