I wouldn't say post WWII era people were idiots. Nobody in those times really believed that the queen was a god-chosen leader.
If you don't forget, the book was written in 1950. That's only fifty or so years ago, it's not that different from now. These weren't stupid people, remember, they invented almost all of the technological thing we use today.
And about Silent Planet, did anyone else ever think of the Malacandrians as a communist symbol? Think about it: they supposedly created a "perfect society" by eliminating competition. I always wonder what Lewis was trying to imply by that.
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