Dead white males are significant figures in the history of Western civilization whom liberals despise in modern times, due to ideological opposition to their contributions. However,
- "Bloom believes, among many other things, that a body of great literature of imperishable value exists, recognizable solely by its intrinsic aesthetic merits; further, that those who try to use or subvert the great works for extra-literary purposes, i.e., anything smacking of social engineering, are barbarians; and further still, that these barbarians are not at the gates but are largely in charge of American education and the nation's debased institutions of public discourse."[1]