For education, we have free schooling for the first 18 years of life, an extensive community college system, and, if you live in the right state, fantastic public higher education. You can educate yourself through a BA for less than the price of a car if you're willing to consistently work hard for grades.
The private sector is similar. Those who have proven themselves exceptional rise in the ranks. Looking at Fortune 500 company CEOs, yes, there exist executives who are not the "best and brightest," but "there exist" does not mean "all are". By and large, I would say that most of the CEOs and their executive teams are working toward what they believe to be the best path forward for their company. As publicly-traded companies, those who hold stock in those companies act as a check on incompetent management, and companies incompetently managed have a tendency to be heavily penalized. See HP recently, and its stock price.
Your rant takes a very harsh and dismissive tone towards "American society" and its political nature is not what should be discussed on Hacker News. I don't think your harsh tone, your evidence-free assertions or your conclusion ("The only way out is to radically reshape society") have a place here. Please go back to the #OccupyWallSt rallies.