What is the origin of the political expression, useful idiots? People often attribute the term to Vladimir Lenin who led the Bolshevik Revolution, and helped create the Soviet Union! According to Grant Harris, senior reference librarian at the Library of Congress, We have not been able to identify this phrase among Lenins published works. The New York Times published in 1948 that the use of the expression, useful Idiots was used as early as1946, in an article in the socialist-democratic Italian paper, LUmanita. In his book, Planned Chaos (1947) author Ludwig von Mises stated that the term was used by the communists for liberals who were confused and misguided sympathizers, and in their naivete, thought of themselves as standing for a benign socialist ideological cause, and, although considered as valued allies of the Soviet Union, they were actually held in contempt by them and were being cynically used by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union for subversive activities in their native Western countries. A 2010 BBC radio documentary titled Useful Idiots listed among the useful idiots of Joseph Stalin several prominent British writers including H. G. Wells and Doris Lessing, the Irish writer George Bernard Shaw, the American journalist Walter Duranty, and the singer Paul Robeson. Currently, that term helps spring to mind names like Sean Penn, Jane Fonda, and Dennis Rodman. Maybe, we should add the current mayor of New York, Bill DeBlasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo. Although, as idiotic as they may appear, I dont know how useful they will actually be! Peace!
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 19:58:31 +0000
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