always was?

When you've made all your money, when you've attained all the power, your next step is to protect it from those who have less. On the grand apes-with-suits-on-fiat stage, the incentive is to inhibit the natural cycle of rise and fall of power and wealth. As long as there is a money spigot and people who live without purpose, their purpose will be to attain their own wealth and power through the most available means, which naturally tend to be the most despicable.