[SiVal]

The elite and ultra-rich commit theft and fraud on a scale that would bankrupt entire countries...

Replace the first word, "the", with "some", and I'm with you. It's undeniably true. And "some" elite and ultra-rich do more good in the world than entire towns full of poor people. This is an observation about leverage, not about differences in average ethics by class.

It's reasonable to assume that the same housing project residents who are so willing to violently assault a passerby and take his wallet or swarm around a traffic accident, stealing what they can from the injured victims, would be willing to "commit theft and fraud on a scale that would bankrupt entire countries" if only they had the means to do so. That they don't do so is probably not a sign of higher ethical standards.

[speeder]

Here in Brazil a street pool asked two questions:

"Are politicians corrupt and steal public money?"

and

"If you were elected yourself, would you be corrupt and steal public money?"

The first had 90% of "YES" (no surprise here).

The second had a 60% of "YES"

This mean if you put a random person in office, 60% of chance they WILL steal. And 40% of chance they might fall into the group of real honest people, or people that steal but won't admit about it.