Useful idiot

A useful idiot or useful fool is a pejorative description of a person, suggesting that the person thinks they are fighting for a cause without fully comprehending the consequences of their actions, and who does not realize they are being manipulated by the cause's leaders or by other political players.^[1]^[2] The term was often used during the Cold War in the Western bloc to describe non-communists regarded as susceptible to communist propaganda and psychological manipulation.^[1]

This statement has traditionally been attributed to Vladimir Lenin, but this attribution is not supported by any evidence. Similar terms exist in other languages, and the first mention in the English language predates Lenin's birth.

^ ^a ^b "useful idiot". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 2017.
^ Holder, R. W. (2008), "useful fool", Oxford Dictionary of Euphemisms, Oxford University Press, p. 394, ISBN 978-0199235179, useful fool—a dupe of the Communists. Lenin's phrase for the shallow thinkers in the West whom the Communists manipulated. Also as useful idiot.

[oed-1] "useful idiot". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 2017.

[2] Holder, R. W. (2008), "useful fool", Oxford Dictionary of Euphemisms, Oxford University Press, p. 394, ISBN 978-0199235179, useful fool—a dupe of the Communists. Lenin's phrase for the shallow thinkers in the West whom the Communists manipulated. Also as useful idiot.

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