I came upon a couple of interesting terms recently. The first, 'telescopic philanthropy' was coined by Charles Dickens to describe the behavior of people like Mrs. Jellyby in his 'Bleak House' who concerns herself with the conditions of natives in Niger while neglecting her own children.

The second, 'telescopic morality' was coined by one of my favorite British authors and public intellectuals. 

He defined the term to mean "...  the feeling that, by espousing some cause in the abstract, and advertising that one is doing so, one is actually being a virtuous person. It matters little whether the advertisement of one’s virtuous sentiments has any effect: Life for some people is perpetual psychotherapy or psychodrama, and by sloganeering one has discharged oneself, so to speak, of the onerous duty to be good."

Thus posturing and appearances are more important than actual actions and results.

And, when the promised results are not forthcoming, one can always find some way of blaming it upon their intellectual opponents.

And so it goes.