I think that the midwits misunderstand this quote. It stems from the fact that they think that they know everything but actually they don’t really know very much at all, especially about history.

History is a neglected subject in public school, and in the universities, it’s usually a bunch of Marxist drivel. If you were to compare Ancient Rome or 19th century Europe with its robber barons, to, I don’t know, the Spanish Inquisition, or the Iran of today, then you might begin to elucidate what CS Lewis meant by that quote, and why you would indeed be better off under robber barons. I know which one I would pick.