Marxists, Deception, And Violence

American Thinker ^ | 19 Oct. 2026 | John A. Gentry

[MtnClimber]

From Lenin and Stalin to today’s radical left, the history of communism reveals a recurring pattern of false promises, political repression, and revolutionary violence.

Marxists have long used verbal and historical misrepresentations to convince non-communists to support them and their positions. As Vladimir Lenin reportedly said, “there are no morals in politics; there is only expedience.”

An early master of disinformation was a young German, Willi Münzenberg, who led the Communist International’s (Comintern’s) propaganda effort in the West in the 1920s and early 1930s. Münzenberg called the deceptive organizations he created to advance Soviet interests “Innocents’ Clubs”—for the gullibility of their members. Such people became known as useful idiots or naïve dupes.

Exploiting such people, the Soviets for decades deceptively promoted themselves as advocates of “peace” while maintaining a huge military, building armed so-called progressive forces abroad that would fight the revolutionary uprisings they planned, and demanding that Western states unilaterally disarm.

Bolsheviks like Lenin made no effort to hide the fact that they sought to foment violent foreign revolutions and that the “democracy” they espoused was a dictatorship of a vanguard communist party—themselves. But they built Potemkin villages that regularly fooled political pilgrims who traveled to the USSR to witness its purported socialist wonders. Many Americans also bought the Soviets’ deceptive “peace” line.

These deception campaigns remain relevant today, given the surge in support for the Marxist, self-styled “Democratic Socialists of America” (DSA), many of whom claim to be progressives seeking only social justice. They, too, seek to deceive (and recruit) naïve dupes.

But confidence breeds candor, and, reflecting their growing strength, in mid-2026, the DSA overtly proposed to radically reform American government without explaining how they intended to do so. Given that they may be on the cusp of significant power within the Democratic Party, Marxists’ record of

[MtnClimber]

They are out in the open now.

[No Party Affiliation]

A lot of pundits, podcasters and public speakers covering the birth and growth of communism and the associative miseries. Given the collective IQ of the general populace I wonder if it will make a difference.

[Vaduz]

Communists know gullibility is a powerful useful tool to gain power Democratic Socialists of America has the power of most of the press to feed the operation.

[SunkenCiv]

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[GOPJ]

...who led the Communist International’s (Comintern’s) propaganda effort in the West in the 1920s and early 1930s. Münzenberg called the deceptive organizations he created to advance Soviet interests “Innocents’ Clubs”—for the gullibility of their members. Such people became known as useful idiots or naïve dupes.

Cool - I've often wondered where that phrase came from..."naive dupes' - just kidding where the term 'useful idiots' came from... it's a perfect description for people who fall for commie crapola.

[sauropod]

Yep.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

I’m not so sure that the DSA political violence in the USA is part of the history of Marxist and Leninist political violence. In Europe, yes. IN the USA, probably not. In the US, the history of political violence is long and deep and institutionally, it traces right back to the Civil War and the Democratic Party. Before the war, both sides engaged in political violence over abolition (think Bloody Kansas). After the war, the Southern Democrats engaged in political violence to retake and hold power by terrorizing blacks and white Republicans into not voting. The KKK was the paramilitary arm of the Democratic Party until the 1950s. Once the KKK no longer was useful, the Democrats starting using radical Left movements as their terror / paramilitary arm. Most recently, it has been Occupy Wall Street, BLM, Antifa and now the DSA. So DSA violence is part of the Democrat tradition that goes back to the KKK.

[Georgia Girl 2]

Its always better when the masks come off.