People in power won't act out of foresight or ethics. They'll act when the cost of not acting exceeds the cost of doing something messy and imperfect

They'll act when it profits them.

What's stopping them from good actions is not the fear of "doing something messy and imperfect". It's the lack of financial and power-grabbing motivation.

Even that’s giving them too much credit. They’ll burn it all down preserve their fragile egos.