Useful Idiots

[bad ideas actualised by alcohol]

So, a lot of times I hear things like :Lenin would've called them useful idiots.
So I was wondering what does useful idiot mean and where did Lenin say this.

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Mensheviks I would guess.

[Comrade Samuel]

The term was originally used to describe Soviet sympathizers in Western countries. This comes from wikipedia mind you, so you may want to check out some more legitimate sources.

[bad ideas actualised by alcohol]

The term was originally used to describe Soviet sympathizers in Western countries. This comes from wikipedia mind you, so you may want to check out some more legitimate sources.

That's what I'm confused about. Lenin wanted a communist world right? So why would he call people who sympathize with the SU idiots?

[TheGodlessUtopian]

That's what I'm confused about. Lenin wanted a communist world right? So why would he call people who sympathize with the SU idiots?

Possibly because of tendency conflict; the Soviets were,at the time,trying desperately to unite the World Wide Communist Movement under their leadership and harshly criticized any who deviated from their intentions. In this way sympathizers who didn't expressly agree with their program were helpful in spreading basic ideology but ignorant on other matters.

The term sounds familiar but i am unable to remember in full.

[Comrade Samuel]

That's what I'm confused about. Lenin wanted a communist world right? So why would he call people who sympathize with the SU idiots?

It was because they where supporting a cause they did not fully understand , sorry about that should of been more clear about that in the oringinal post.

Here Is the full article

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Useful_idiot

I should also mention I cannot find a quote where Lenin explicitly says the phrase "useful idiot"

[Ocean Seal]

So, a lot of times I hear things like :Lenin would've called them useful idiots.
So I was wondering what does useful idiot mean and where did Lenin say this.
Useful idiots are what right wingers call revolutionaries who live in the west. Lenin never said this, in fact I'm pretty sure that it was a quote from an American action movie.

[Kronsteen]

Lenin did not use the term. It's an American term whose first surviving uses in print are from the 1920s.

A lot of socialists don't like the term because it's been misattributed to Lenin, and used to attack his supporters. But I think it's a very useful term - think about all the women who're used by right wing organisations to speak out against women's rights, or the GOProud gay men who attack gay rights.

Some of these people are simply quislings - traitors for money - but you can always find people who genuinely believe in causes of which they themselves are the victims. They're idiots, they're useful to someone, and they're disposable.

[Tommy4ever]

As others have said it was a term used by Western media during the Cold War era to describe Pro-Soviet groups in the West and was attributed by that media to various Soviet figures like Lenin and Stalin. I am unaware of any evidence of Soviet leaders uses the term themselves though.