Vladimir putin has played americans across the political spectrum for suckers. Nor does the media nor hollywood discuss the pernicious effects that socialism and communism have on human behavior as the productive are forced to support the unproductive. Aug 23, 2017 the poster boy for useful idiots was walter duranty, moscow bureau chief of the new york times. Thats why my kgb instructors specifically made the point. In america, who are the useful idiots termed by lenin. Lenin did once refer to some of his political adversaries as simpletons.
May 20, 2003 the term useful idiots has been attributed to lenin, as a description of those mindless people in the western democracies who would always find ways to excuse whatever the soviet union did. No, im not aware of any marxist primary sources with useful idiot usage. A person who blindly follows the corporaterun american plutocracy and will fight for its preservation at the cost of the rest of his countrymens wellbeing. Oct 14, 2011 he knew that the uneducated idiots were a very useful tool. Stalin described his converts as useful idiots the useful idiots have destroyed every nation in which they have seized power and control. The best useful idiots are those most passionate and selfless, the true gems for communist propaganda.
Most of the useful idiots a term vladimir lenin gave a hundred year ago for the same type of people. But even lenin would have to smile at the way putin exploited americans in 2016 to support trump, or at least to oppose hillary clinton. Lenin is widely credited as the first to use the term useful idiots in describing liberals and other weakminded souls who could be relied upon to fall under the spell of one or another of the isms i. A new generation of useful idiots, the term that lenin originated for those living in liberal democracies who furthered the work. When a government lost his way to governing people.
The term useful idiots has been attributed to lenin, as a description of those mindless people in the western democracies who would always find ways to excuse whatever the soviet union did. Yet even lenin might have been surprised at how far these. Vladimir lenin was a russian revolutionary, and a communist politician. Oct 05, 2017 in effect, they are a new version of the useful idiots the term coined for western supporters of the early communist regime, whom lenin, and then later stalin, happily exploited. To propagandize the west, lenin recruited a corps of useful idiots. Despite often being attributed to lenin, in 1987, grant harris, senior reference librarian at the library of congress, declared that we have not been able to identify this phrase among lenin s published works. In political jargon, a useful idiot is a derogatory term for a person perceived as a propagandist for a cause the goals of which they are not fully aware and who is used cynically by the leaders of the cause. The useful idiots, the leftists who are idealistically believing in the beauty of the soviet socialist or communist or whatever system, when they get disillusioned, they become the worst enemies. Stalins regime had been eulogised by the webbs in their book. Useful idiots in the media on the right, whether they are aided by russian sponsored facebook ads or antiobama birther fantasies, have undermined objective facts, a sense of fairness, even decency, and rule of law, for years on fox tv, right wing radio, and steve bannons rantings in all venues possible. The term has often been attributed to vladimir lenin. Mona charen chronicled the phenomenon in her superb 2003 book useful idiots, which recalls example after jawdropping example of american liberals defending, flattering, and excusing the.
A useful idiot is someone who supports one side of an ideological debate, but who is manipulated and held in contempt by the leaders of their faction or is unaware of the ultimate agenda driving the ideology to which they subscribe. To propagandize the west, lenin recruited a corps of. In lenin s and stalins time useful idiots could generally be found on what we all too loosely define as the left, among those engaged in a lovehate relationship with capitalism. In political jargon, a useful idiot is a derogatory term for a person perceived as propagandizing for a cause without fully comprehending the causes goals, and. Useful idiots from lenin to putin high plains reader. Columnist mona charens new book useful idiots shows that such people are still with us. Anyone who sacrifices themselves to a narcissist is called a useful idiot. Useful idiots is a pejorative term that was used by the soviets to describe soviet sympathizers in western countries and in the united states in particular. Lenin was not stupid enough to believe him, merely quoting him as the occasion arose. Jan 01, 2003 mona charens book useful idiots is named after lenin allegedly said it when referring to those in the west with sympathy for the soviets. Maarten van traa, the dutch socialists international secretary, wrote john vinocur in the new york times in 1981, insists that the party is not playing the role of the useful idiots. Lenin first coined the term useful idiots for them.
The term was then coined as official terminology by the cia during the cold war. The term was originally used to describe noncommunists regarded as susceptible to communist propaganda and manipulation. Divide the people into hostile groups by constantly harping on controversial matters of no importance. Lenin and stalin, these useful idiots claimed, had been much misunderstood.
Enjoy the best vladimir lenin quotes at brainyquote. Alinsky merely simplified vladimir lenin s original scheme for world conquest by communism, under russian rule. Mona charens book useful idiots is named after lenin allegedly said it when referring to those in the west with sympathy for the soviets. And so, in founding the comintern, lenin realized he had an echo chamber in the west to rationalize any of the kremlins actions. Lenin and stalin used the term polyezniy idiot or useful idiot to describe sympathizers in the west who blindly supported communist leaders. Go to youtube and watch the videos of people asking these people questions. But what mueller did expose last week should sicken us all. Explore our collection of motivational and famous quotes by authors you know and love.
Useful idiots the term useful idiots has been attributed to lenin, as a description of those mindless people in the western democracies who would always find ways to excuse whatever the soviet. Nov 09, 2014 the phrase useful idiots, supposedly lenins, refers to westerners duped into saying good things about bad regimes. How liberals got it wrong in the cold war and still blame america first, published by regnery. Uncle joe was not an idiot but he was very useful in the mass murder line, while his idiots were like judas goats, leading us to destruction. Holding todays liberals accountable is not only that it is too short, it doesnt cover enough territory. Saul alinsky merely simplified vladimir lenin s original scheme for world conquest by communism, under russian rule. North even has a chapter entitled useful idiots alternativley, i have also found references that insinuate the remark may have been made by trotsky or stalin. Lenin, it is said, once described leftliberals and social democrats as useful idiots, and for years anticommunists have used the phrase to describe soviet sympathizers in the west, sometimes suggesting that lenin himself talked about useful idiots of the west. Jan mark gets to grips with this question in useful idiots by turning to the future. To propagandize the west, lenin recruited a corps of useful.
Qi has located no substantive evidence that vladimir lenin who died in 1924 or joseph stalin who died in 1953 used the expression useful idiot. Socialism, communism, fascism and now, radicalislamism as in, muslim brotherhoodism. Now heres a fascinating twopart series from the bbc on useful idiots, a term mistakenly attributed to lenin, who enjoyed the favor of many such examples of this species of semiwitting accomplices to tyranny. Yet he concludes that the kremlin has not got much to show for all this effort.
Useful idiots quotes goodreads meet your next favorite book. Vladimir lenin, a communist politician said, liberals are. If you have never heard the term useful idiot it was the attitude held by vladimir lenin towards communist sympathizers in the west america. They are a new version of the useful idiots the term coined for western supporters of the early communist regime, whom lenin, and then later stalin, happily exploited. Nikolai lenin vladimir ilyich ulyanov russian revolutionary and political leader. Vladimir lenin and joseph stalin used the term polyezniy idiot or useful idiot to describe sympathizers in the west who blindly supported communist leaders. Useful idiots, feminism, and social justice warriors explained by former kgb agent topics useful idiots feminism vladamir lenin kgb ussr soviet union agent interview propaganda whistleblower government politics social justice warrior sjw nwo new world order illuminati world government conspiracy cultural marxism. The problem with mona charens invaluable book, useful idiots. Charen dissects a wealth of incidents, the responses, speeches and the ideologies. Mar 23, 2016 the term, often used in its plural form useful idiots and sometimes used more politely as useful innocents. At that same congress in 1920, lenin told his new corps of foreign communists they should not be doctrinaire but flexible and should not spurn the.
For a fanatic like lenin, it wasnt enough merely to have a communist revolution in russia. In the event stalin carried on where lenin finished. You might be a useful idiot if fire breathing christian. In a 1987 article for the new york times, american journalist william safire investigated the origin of the term, noting that a senior reference librarian at the library of congress had been unable to find the phrase in lenin s works and concluding that in the. But is russias reachout to the far right actually effective. He also said that the people would, sell us the rope with which to hang them. While lenin and the soviets held them in utter contempt they also viewed them as tools for dispensing communist propaganda to other countries, thus infecting foreign cultures with their totalitarian tripe. Feb 01, 2004 mona charens book useful idiots is named after lenin allegedly said it when referring to those in the west with sympathy for the soviets. Useful is of course a matter of perspectivesanders has never been of any use to the united states, then or now.
When lenin coined the term useful idiots to describe. But as one who has tied himself in knots looking for lenins supposed quote on another subject the capitalists will sell us the rope with which to. Of course, if it did cover enough territory, it would be thicker than the cambridge, massachusetts phone book. Quotations by vladimir lenin, russian leader, born april 22, 1870. I thought that was one of the worst scripts i had ever read.
The phrase useful idiot has often been attributed to vladimir lenin, but he is not documented as ever having used the phrase. The adulation of leftwing dictators and strongmen by western intellectuals, journalists, and. What foreign correspondents were shown in the soviet union in 1933 was a carefully staged performance created mainly to hide the horrors of holodomor a mass famine that resulted from the communist policy of collectivization. Reference, education and news general reference asked by. Most belonged to the category lenin is reputed to have called useful idiots.
The documentary is hosted by john sweeney and features a collection of insightful speakers, including doris lessing, whose voice reminds me of what the. Especially enraging is how they blame america first for all the troubles in the world. The leaders of the states and of the nations, instead of going in droves to moscow and becoming what lenin calls useful idiots in the communist game, should go to mackinac island, mich. Jan 02, 2016 alinsky merely simplified vladimir lenins original scheme for world conquest by communism, under russian rule. Islam enjoys a large and influential ally among nonmuslims. During the cold war, sanders was what lenin called a useful idiot. In political jargon, a useful idiot is a derogatory term for a person perceived as propagandizing for a cause without fully comprehending the causes goals, and who is cynically used by the causes leaders. In 1964 a letter to the editor of a minneapolis, minnesota newspaper attributed the variant phrase useful fools to lenin. He used the people to get what he wanted, but in the end the people got the downfall of it all. Useful idiot seems to be an invention of opposing side, as far as i could trace it. Why do you think he called these people useful idiots. First applied specifically to the socialists, it is a good phrase for describing the communist follower, whether he is a leftwing socialist in japan, a member of the chilean popular front, a professional humanitarian like jeanpaul sartre, or an idealistic student from guinea who plans. They are driven by pathological altruism, believing that they know how to run our lives. When lenin coined the term useful idiots to describe soviet.
Lenin understood useful idiots as people who serve the cause of communism without sharing communist values or objectives. Useful idiots is a pungent phrase usually attributed to lenin. In 1932 he won the pulitzer prize for columns in which he denied widespread famine in the ussr and mass starvation in ukraine. Columnist mona charens new book useful idiots, shows that. May 28, 2004 useful idiots by jan mark 420pp, david fickling. Apr 12, 1987 maarten van traa, the dutch socialists international secretary, wrote john vinocur in the new york times in 1981, insists that the party is not playing the role of the useful idiots for the. An unnamed voter, one of those useful idiots, was ridiculed by a politician for his extreme antigovernment stance. Once again, somebody lied, and once again just as josef goebbels predicted a chorus of malleable morons broadcast the deceit far and wide via the alchemy of incompetent journalism, and a venomous lie was thus transmogrified into an apparent truth i started this piece with the notion of quoting vladimir lenin. You might be a useful idiot ifyou think the party of richard nixon, who formally inaugurated a fiat currencyslavery system purposefully designed to give some the power to literally purchase, direct and control the lives of all others by way of money crafted out of thin air, is now or ever going to become a true champion for equal. The term has often been attributed to vladimir lenin, but this attribution is controversial. Useful idiots of the west and the creation of chaos through. The useful idiots have destroyed every nation in which they have seized power and control. Volume two of the essentials of lenin contained the following passage translated from russian to english. How liberals got it wrong in the cold war and still blame america first mona charen on.
He knew that the uneducated idiots were a very useful tool. It was conquest, more than any other writer of his generation, who did. Useful idiot meaning in the cambridge english dictionary. And to the useful idiot that says lenin never made this statement this is liberal revisionist history. Destroy the peoples faith in their natural leaders by holding up the latter to ridicule, contempt and obloquy. Gorbachev warning cold war, useful idiots the denise simon. Columnist mona charens new book useful idiots, shows that such people are still with us. Do you think this is anything like what obama is doing today.
Aug 31, 2000 lenin is supposed to have referred to blind defenders and apologists for the soviet union in the western democracies as useful idiots. Jan 21, 2014 beware the useful idiots obama was influenced by the writings and philosophies saul alinsky, author of the book, rules for radicals, and later by frank marshall davis, with similar philosophies. Useful idiots the term useful idiots has been attributed to lenin, as a description of those mindless people in the western democracies who would always finds ways to excuse whatever the soviet union did. It was conquest, more than any other writer of his generation, who did most to expose this deceitful drivel. In 2003, mona charen wrote a groundbreaking book she titled, useful idiots. It is presently happening at an alarming rate in the us. In the days of alternative facts, this book is a very useful reminder of a time and country which attempted to build an alternative reality. Joe biden and the useful idiots in the democratic party. I cant exclude karl radek, but seems unlikely never saw it in or around radeks articles ive read. It is presently happening at an alarming rate in the u. Beware the useful idiots obama was influenced by the writings and philosophies saul alinsky, author of the book, rules for radicals, and later by frank marshall davis, with similar philosophies.