The lifeboat is actually a terrible analogy for nations. Presumably NONE of the people in the lifeboat or swimming around the lifeboat had anything to do with building the boat, stocking it with supplies, or preparing for a catastrophe that requires the use of a lifeboat. They also aren't expected to repair/keep the boat afloat, they just sit there and use up the boat's resources.
Nations are far more like homesteads. Everyone starts out with a chunk of land and they build a homestead themselves. The parcels are not equal, some are so fertile and full of wildlife the homesteaders have very little work, while others end up with a parcel on a rocky slope and struggle to eek out a living. Oddly enough over time the homesteaders on the worst parcels of land usually create the best places due to the hardship and skills needed to succeed.
What will happen if the people that built the nice homesteads are replaced by the people that put up low end ramshackle not very productive homesteads? The answer is obvious, the nice homesteads eventually become EXACTLY like the dumpy homesteads. Worse yet, if only the "best" people are hand picked from the dumpy homesteads to run the nice homesteads both will suffer, as the people left behind in the dumpy homestead will find their situation gets even worse as the best among them moves away.