“Even with the heady notions of the Enlightenment swirling about, the American Founders never relinquished their fundamental belief in the depravity of man. Our founders did not believe in the perfectibility of man by any human institution, church and state included. … ‘All kinds of men, whether poor or rich, whether of common or aristocratic stock, are selfish and always will be.’”

“Our nation’s founders acknowledged the sinfulness of man and took it into account when they developed the system of government that has been the envy of the world. ‘As there is a degree of depravity in mankind which requires a certain degree of circumspection and distrust,’ wrote James Madison in 1788, ‘so there are other qualities in human nature which justify a certain portion of esteem and confidence. Republican government presupposes the existence of these qualities in a higher degree than any other form.’”

Read more: What Our Founders Understood about Human Nature.

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