Perhaps the "good emperor" is an outmoded concept.
Or, in general, the strong man who rescues the people from disaster.
This is an idea that, for me, amounts to playing devil's advocate: What if, in today's world, it's the oligarchs who step in and fix the problems? I'm talking enlightened self-interest, since things could get bad enough to pinch a little for them too.
A cynic (or a paranoid) might suggest the same scenario but with malice aforethought: Once we've been disciplined up good by a really bad recession and made pliable again, they can lighten up and let things get better...but with a new gang running the turf.
No more partisan politics to bemoan then. And we might just thank 'em for it. Or maybe we won't notice.
(Lord, I think I sound like Bowser!)