I have just one note to add to this rather first rate piece:

In a way (a preverse way) we are lucky to live at a time when the world is about to undergo radical change, one of those times that history books 100 years hence will belabor.

That change is the Decline of the West, or as some call them, the golden Billion. The "West" means however an entire civilizational edifice, built upon the evidently false concept that Democracy equals good Governance, virtually by definition. The Democracy we now have is obviously in name only, a thin fig leaf to cover the precipitous rise of the Corporatocratic state, which now rules supreme, even as it continues to rearrange the faux democratic playing field, in such a way as to benefit the very top oligarchic 1%. By the same token in the Economic field, the stakes are continually recast so as to favor a financialized model that begets the ruling rentier class, cf. Neo-Feudalism (cf. Michael Hudson).

In the process cultural, societal and public values are being corrupted, to the point they are hardly recognizable. Yet it's happening in full sight of the public, something that can happen precisely because competence at the highest levels has been compromised irrevocably as Gaius posits.

This, in a way, has already been predicted in Oscar Spengler's famous 2 volumes from early 20th century, called "Decline of the West". His contention, based on review of several past grand civilizations is that they all share a similar pattern of rise up to a peak, then plateau and then a period of decline, as the creative burst of energy that sustained the civilization peeters out. We are now in the decline phase, which appears to be accelerating.

As distressing as being part of such a decline phase, we can take comfort in knowing we are witness to historical tectonic shifts. There's much to analyse during this phase and some, like Gaius, excel in reading the tea leaves, even as many are merely despondent.

Who said "May you live in Interesting times"?

PS I happen to think also that the rise of the smart devices did much to stupefy an ever-increasing cohort of the young. Effectively robbing them of depth of know;ledge, creativity and tyhe very kind of indenpendent, objective thought that tyhe article highlighted as so essential to competence.