Liberals dreamed of making things better. They believed human beings, if not perfectible, were at least subject to improvement. History moved positively, onward and upward. The role of government was to engineer progress by spending public money for the common good. Social problems like poverty could be cured through government action. Conservatives, on the other hand, thought the liberals were hopeless romantics. Conservatives believed human beings were fundamentally flawed. Public spending aimed at correcting these flaws was a waste of money. The best anyone could hope for was that the human condition would get no worse. Conservatives mocked liberals for not recognizing the evil inherent in our souls.