the first group of theorists is best represented by josé ortega y gasset and karl mannheim. each of these theorists located the cause of the advent of mass society in the decline of the social position of creative elites who were responsible for the development and the strength of cultural values. mass society arose when society was no longer directed by an identifiable and stable structure of elites, when the vulgar appetites of the masses supplanted "the canons of refinement and sober restraint." the masses cannot simply take over the role served previously by elites; they can express desires but not values.