[mrguyorama]

I don't actually think the Robber Barons in the 1920s had people going out of their way to defend them and insist they had special knowledge.

The New Deal happened with massive popular support because people did not like the Barons, and wanted to stop them and actually have a life worth living.

It only took like 30 years of suffering.

[ee64a4a]

The Robber Barons weren't in the 1920s; that refers to industrial age monopolists (e.g. rail/oil), and culminated in the Sherman Antitrust (i.e. 1800s).

Broadly, your point is still valid, though. Just a mild inaccuracy between the Gilded Age and the roaring 20s.