Empires start and die like weekend house parties. After their done there is a mess that needs to be cleaned up.
Of course these cycles happen.
Your error is thinking that it's the fault of some elite.
And another thing you're wrong about is thinking this process can be stopped by removing said elite.
First of all you should realize that without big undertakings like empires there would have been a lot less scietific progress. We would still be in the bronze age if not for the knowledge centers that arose around big capitals in empires.
Without the kind of resources of empires there would have been very little science during the past millenia because almost everybody would have needed to do physical labour to get food. There would simply be no time to do science. Only the very rich could afford (both in time and in money) to learn to read, never mind get an education. And the knowledge humans gathered would be spread around different parts of the world.
And in any case, lots and lots of social inventions are based on research done for warfare.
The point is if there were no elite rulers then you would propably not be sitting behind a computer and talking about bitvoin on the internet.
You would propably be looking for a good opportunity to trade your goats for apples or something.
So we as a society value the elite because they are in the position to organize society into something bigger.
But as society grows more complex every time it is set up it invariably grows beyond the scope of the original plan.
We can try to compensate but at some point the system fails under its own weight. That is what history tells us.
One problem often seen (but this a symptom) is corruption. And i mean overall corruption, not just governmental.
People in general are becoming more decadent in their desires and in their actions.
Now that everyone has everything why do anything at all? What will motivate people now to work for the whole for most of their lifes?
We as a society, like all others before us, are on a road with a dead end.
That's a consequence of progress.
Maybe this time we can change it without crashing it. But then we need to address the right things and not get emotional and paranoia.