You simply underestimate the ability of people to rise up to that type of challenge by finding a new group to scapegoat. I was thinking this morning on the drive in to the office that I can't remember the last American political campaign that was actually focused on "what we can do better", just on "what they're doing / did wrong" or "*they*'re taking over our country, take it back", with *they* of course being anything other than white heterosexual Christian males on one side or the military/corporations on the other side.
Fixing a problem is far more difficult than blaming it on someone else.