Comment by tibbydudeza
2 years ago
The term "useful idiot" refers to Lenin - basically it is folks who might not be for the communist cause but are propaganda tools and usually ignorant they are being used.
2 years ago
The term "useful idiot" refers to Lenin - basically it is folks who might not be for the communist cause but are propaganda tools and usually ignorant they are being used.
The term "useful idiot" was invented by conservatives in the West during the Cold War, as a slur against social democrats.
Lenin never used it. It didn't even exist during his lifetime.
It was a slur against collaborators with communism, not against social democrats: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2019/08/22/useful-idiot/
The slur was originally directed against social democrats by conservatives who accused them of helping communism.
Later, the term became a much more general slur used by conservatives against anyone who wasn't sufficiently "tough" against the USSR.