The man of system . . . is apt to be very wise in his own conceit

Regarding the need for values/religion to serve as reins on the otherwise unbridled arrogance of the technocrat/meritocrat, Adam Smith spotted this problem long ago in that dawn of classical liberalism.

The man of system . . . is apt to be very wise in his own conceit; and is often so enamoured with the supposed beauty of his own ideal plan of government, that he cannot suffer the smallest deviation from any part of it. He goes on to establish it completely and in all its parts, without any regard either to the great interests or to the strong prejudices which may oppose it. He seems to imagine that he can arrange the different members of a great society with as much ease as the hand arranges the different pieces upon a chess-board.