Am Yisrael - The Saviours of the World?

Today in class, we talked about a non-Jewish historian (whose name I can't remember) who truly believed that the Jewish people was clearly put on this Earth for a divine purpose. Apparently, the Jews always have a solution before the rest of the world even discovers the problem requiring said solution.
 For example, Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zichai, who figured out how Judaism could continue without a Beit Hamikdash (the Holy Temple). You might say that it can't have been that hard, because the Jewish people operated for many years before the Beit Hamikdash, but there are several things to consider. 
For one thing, the culture and traditions of our people have been rapidly changing ever since the religion was founded. Since they had the Beit Hamikdash for so many years, the traditions of the Jewish people had long since evolved to be heavily dependent on it, and the priests.
For another, we are now in an era that is post Tanakh, and therefore with much more distance between us and many of the influences present during the Tanakh. 
Finally, there have been generations of religious leaders since our last time without the temple who did their own part to connect the Jewish people to the temple, writing their own commentaries and opinions and presenting them to the culture as law. 
Therefore, in my mind, it isn't such a stretch that finding a way to survive without the Beit Hamikdash in that setting is such a huge feat. 
As to whether or not that means Jews are a people divinely chosen to be ahead of the game... Well, as much as Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zichai had the foresight to be prepared, I don't think that the same can be said for the entire Jewish people. Every religion has their share of wise ones, cautious ones, and strategizing ones, not just the Jews. On the flip side, every religion has their fair share of idiots, and the Jews are no exception. My point is that it is the individuals within the people of Israel who are gifted, and not  people as a whole. The Jewish people are not perfect. My conclusion, therefore, is that while those are pretty words and nice compliments, they do not hold any basis in fact.