These men were, in fact, the Founding Fathers of the country. They were deeply critical of many aspects of the United States: the irrational religious enthusiasms and dangerous sectarian passions of its people, the chaotic nature of its governance, and the materialism of its middle and lower classes, with their vulgar interests in making money and advancing themselves. They were cosmopolitans, influenced by the beliefs of foreign thinkers. They were mistrustful of democracy, and some of them didn’t even believe that all Americans should be allowed to vote. They were elitists, who believed that the republic should be ruled by geniuses and great-souled men. There once was an influential group of American intellectuals and activists who held what many nowadays would consider strange and even reprehensible ideas. The Revolt Against the Masses: How Liberalism Has Undermined the Middle Class
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