re: A conspiracy of cartographers
Once you realize that much of this kind of thing is not about solving real problems, but simply about accumulation and keeping power, it makes a lot more sense.
For one thing, behaviors that seems senseless or even counterproductive when viewed in terms of solving the problem (example: actions that do nothing to fix the problem, and often even make things worse) become perfectly sensible and predictable when viewed from the other direction (gaining and keeping power.)
Pick a few major issues, and try it on for size.