The problem of sustainable development is considered from the point of view of the possibility of achieving it using existing approaches in the world. It is argued that the organization and quality of public administration cannot provide a solution to the accumulated problems. Moreover, public administration itself becomes a source of danger to society due to the monopolization of power. Based on the growth of negative trends, the assumption is made about the possibility of social collapse provoked by illiterate or erroneous actions of the bureaucracy corrupted by a oligarchy. The conflictological approach to solving this problem is rejected as untenable. It is proposed to modernize social regulators by means of social shunting as a result of social self-organization processes.