Power often secures compliance by conjuring an “avatar of fear”—a boss, a rival, or a catastrophe—to justify (stabilize) a fragile status quo. This “things could be worse” tactic is a coercive deterrence mechanism that serves the “collective elite” by scaring the individual into non-agency.
This is not a culture to “raise all boats,” but a mercenary society of individual domination. The calculus of success becomes openly parasitic upon the bonded society.
If the path to greatness is paved with selfishness and inflated threats, the logical move for the ambitious is to fragment the culture for personal gain.
We are left in a cycle where the elite achieve heights by creating enemies, ensuring that society eventually collapses (fragments) under the weight of its own manufactured divisions (fears).
To rule, one must first manufacture fear (boogeyman), then feed on it.