> The politicians believed they were creating a new and better form of democracy
That's extraordinary nonsense.
> and the CIA used their ideas to develop techniques to manage and control the minds of the American people. But this was not a cynical exercise in manipulation
The CIA intentionally tortured Ted Kaczynski (inspiring him to become the Unabomber) when he was 17 years old, as an experiment in mind control. They were not trying to help anyone.