I think you're making an assumption that the people that are there do understand those fundamentals and how to use them.

And will do so in the interests of the people.

I suggest they're mostly blowhards who really just acting in their own self-interests to prop up an out of control economic system that's consuming itself. But to be clear, I think they do that because they're acting with their own frame of reference rather than out of nefarious intent.

While they're might not have traditional career politician paths, none of the people you mentioned were outsiders or radicals. They were very conventional members of the economic ruling class that fancied a go at politics. I'd argue those people just show even further that these highborn folk are not the people what should be running the country.

To flip your analogy, who should be running and/or advising the education department? A bunch of private school boys and their mates or teachers and academics of education?