History Main / IntellectuallySupportedTyranny

Archetypes that are similar but not exactly this trope include WellIntentionedExtremist, MadScientist, EvilGenius, differing from this trope in that it better fits villains or VillainProtagonist. Intellectually Supported Tyranny are not really main characters but usually supporting players, and where the other archetypes commit evil actions believing them to be good, such figures know fully well that the actions are tyrannical but are both "necessary" and "correct". Given that they tend to reference actual totalitarian governments, {{dystopia}}n works often have the heroes interacting with this type, who tends to have power in a paradoxically anti-intellectual state. [[noreallife]]

Unfortunately, this trope has been TruthInTelevision in history. It is the antithesis of ThePhilosopherKing. Creator/NiccoloMachiavelli ''especially'' warns about philosophically and intellectually based governments, since they have a horrible tendency to collapse into intellectually supported tyrannies. Therefore, no RealLife examples, please. It's sufficient to say they have existed.

Unfortunately, this trope has been TruthInTelevision in history. It is the antithesis of PhilosopherKing. Niccoló Machiavelli ''especially'' warns about philosophically and intellectually based governments, since they have a horrible tendency to collapse into intellectually supported tyrannies. Therefore, no RealLife examples, please. It's sufficient to say they have existed.

[[AC:AnimeAndManga]]

[[AC:ComicBooks]]

[[AC:FanWorks]]

[[AC:FilmAnimated]]

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]

[[AC:VideoGames]]

[[AC:WebComics]]

* Doctor Wallace Breen in ''VideoGame/{{Half-Life 2}}'' acts as the voice and face of the alien Combine occupation, but it's not entirely clear if his support is out of self-serving misanthropy or actual misguided idealism. Regardless, he constantly tries to provide "rational" and "scientific" reasons for why aliens committing genocide and suppressing human reproduction is a good thing for our future.

* [[ComicBook/TheFantasticFour Reed Richards]] turns from [[ReedRichardsIsUseless useless]] into outright this in Comicbook/CivilWar and ComicBook/MarvelZombies. In Comicbook/CivilWar, he and [[spoiler:Skrull!]]ComicBook/AntMan flank Tony Stark by this. Though in the case of ComicBook/MarvelZombies it's clear that the grief of losing his children left him.... slightly unhinged.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'', the BigBad [[spoiler:Ozymandias is a former super-hero]] who once believed in SaveTheVillain and ThouShaltNotKill, reluctantly he comes around to accepting that it's necessary to unleash a massive atrocity to end the UsefulNotes/ColdWar by means of GenghisGambit. The final two issues of the comics all deal with how he arrived at this decision intellectually and justifying it by means of the same.

* Aldous Huxley's ''Literature/BraveNewWorld'' has a rare example of this character as the EvilOverlord himself, in Mustapha Mond. Also unique though is that he comes across as more complex/likely to be right than other examples. Mond is one the few who realized how oppressive the system is since he is smart enough to see the science they practice is repeating what was already known to avoid upsetting the statu quo with new breakthroughs. The difference between him and the protagonists is that the World controllers had an opening when Mond realized it and he took their offer.
* Creator/FyodorDostoevsky dealt with this so often (in ''Literature/CrimeAndPunishment, Literature/{{Demons}}, Literature/TheBrothersKaramazov''), that some argue that he comes dangerously close to AntiIntellectualism since his novels frequently presented characters inspired by Western ideas to be both insane ''and'' [[NoTrueScotsman anti-Russian]], and likewise said the only alternative was community with the Orthodox Church and accepting the Tsarist regime. Russian critics indeed accused Dostoevsky for PsychologicalProjection in that he condemned radical and left-wing ideas for intellectually justifying violence [[TheHorseshoeEffect while himself providing intellectual justifications for Tsarist autocracy]].
** Raskolnikov in ''Literature/CrimeAndPunishment'' argues by citing Napoleon and other ByronicHero, that exceptional people and smart individuals have a right to fully control and determine the lives of those beneath him. Most of the novel is a series of interactions between him and other characters to test out whether his ideas are right or wrong. [[spoiler:In the end, Raskolnikov in a WhatYouAreInTheDark moment, decides that he is in fact right, and that most of the world and social values are bunk and hypocritical, and that the only thing stopping him from being a good person is himself, and in the end, he willingly turning himself in for his crimes]].
** ''Literature/TheBrothersKaramazov'' has this conflict play out between the three brothers of Alyosha, Ivan and Dimitri, children of a nasty father. Ivan is the intellectual who believes that in a world without God or religious belief, "everything is permitted" and is sympathetic to revolutionary violence and other ideas. He even provides a famous parable to Alyosha called "the Grand Inquisitor" that a CorruptChurch's tyranny dwarfs, co-opts and destroys Christ's goodness. But ultimately he faces guilt [[spoiler:for the fact that his ideas drove Smerdyakov, his bastard brother, to commit {{Patricide}} and frame his other brother Dimitri for the crime. Ivan can't handle the guilt of what his ideas achieved in reality and goes insane when Dmitri is sentenced and faces imprisonment for a crime he didn't commit]].

** The play ''The Firebugs'' (also translated as ''The Arsonists'') has the title pyromaniacs aided by a character identified only as Professor. However, he grows disgusted after realizing the other firebugs are only doing it for fun, not radical politics, and disassociates.

** In fact, almost all of the Forsaken were intellectuals before the Bore was opened. Sammael (an athlete), Moghedien (investment broker) and Be'lal (lawyer) were not (and Rahvin is a cypher), but the Forsaken include a doctor, a geneticist, a composer, a university lecturer, a psychiatrist, an academic mage studying the nature of magic, an historian/anthropologist, and the aforementioned philosopher. The others are mostly well-versed in history, literature, and '''especially''' magic, among other things.
* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' by Creator/GeorgeRRMartin has the Citadel and the Order of Maesters. The Maesters are supported and patronized by the feudal lords and they write the court histories and advise the King or High Lord on matters of policies and educate the children. This results in many of them invoking HobbesWasRight, WorkingClassPeopleAreMorons and other tropes to not only justify and cement the power of the aristocracy, but to make them feel good about it. Maester Pycelle, the utterly corrupt Grand Maester of the Citadel in particular serves as the propagandist for tyrannical Tywin Lannister and more or less justifies all his most heinous crimes for the greater good.

* ''VideoGame/DanganRonpa'': This trope comes into play in the second game, where we learn [[spoiler:the answer to ApocalypseHow. There's been a global revolution of murderous nihilism -- led by mankind's best and brightest, the 77th Hope's Peak graduating class.]] The subsequent anime {{retcon}}ned this somewhat ([[spoiler:they were brainwashed by Junko and may even have thought they were doing ''good'']]) but also introduced new examples, as noted above.

** The play ''The Firebugs'' (also translated as ''The Arsonists'') has the title pyromaniacs aided by a character identified only as Professor.

** In fact, almost all of the Forsaken were intellectuals before the Bore was opened. Sammael (an athlete), Moghedien (investment broker) and Be'lal (lawyer) were not (and Rahvin is a cypher), but the Forsaken include a doctor, a geneticist, a composer, a university lecturer, a psychiatrist, an academic mage studying the nature of magic, an historian/anthropologist, and the aforementioned philosopher. The others are mostly well-versed in history, literature, and '''especially''' magic, amongst other things.

Archetypes that are similar but not exactly this trope include WellIntentionedExtremist, MadScientist, EvilGenius, differing from this trope in that it better fits villains or VillainProtagonist. IntellectuallySupportedTyranny are not really main characters but usually supporting players, and where the other archetypes commit evil actions believing them to be good, such figures know fully well that the actions are tyrannical but are both "necessary" and "correct". Given that they tend to reference actual totalitarian governments, {{dystopia}}n works often have the heroes interacting with this type, who tends to have power in a paradoxically anti-intellectual state. [[noreallife]]

The regime has established a tyranny that oppresses people, or carries out or initiates policies which are tyrannical, or otherwise express a lot of nasty views of FantasticRacism and so on. Most of the people who support this have to be pure evil, right? Sure some of them are, but it's possible that some or most of them are JustFollowingOrders, or are being bribed by BetterLivingThroughEvil, are intimidated into submission by fear and reprisal. But surely, no smart person could rationally condone and support such actions. Cue the ultimate BrokenPedestal, the individuals who are smart, who are competent, and even achievers in their profession, supporting an organization, state, or a set of policies that are directly harmful to others. Such individuals both believe and support such policies and even articulate elaborately written justifications that on the face of it, [[BastardlySpeech may sound convincing]] and you might even approve, reluctantly or honestly, that JerkassHasAPoint or HannibalHasAPoint.

* Aldous Huxley's ''Literature/BraveNewWorld'' has a rare example of this character as the EvilOverlord himself, in Mustapha Mond. Also unique though is that he comes across as more complex/likely to be right than other examples. Mond is one the few who realized how oppressive the system is since he is smart enough to see the science they practice is repeating what was already known since too much progress would upset the regime. The difference between him and the protagonists is that the World controllers needed a controller in Western Europe when Mond realized it.

* Aldous Huxley's ''Literature/BraveNewWorld'' has a rare example of this character as the EvilOverlord himself, in Mustapha Mond. Also unique though is that he comes across as more complex/likely to be right than other examples.

* Creator/FyodorDostoevsky dealt with this so often (in ''Literature/CrimeAndPunishment, Literature/{{Demons}}, Literature/TheBrothersKaramazov'', that some argue that he comes dangerously close to AntiIntellectualism since his novels frequently presented characters inspired by Western ideas to be both insane ''and'' [[NoTrueScotsman anti-Russian]], and likewise said the only alternative was community with the Orthodox Church and accepting the Tsarist regime. Russian critics indeed accused Dostoevsky for PsychologicalProjection in that he condemned radical and left-wing ideas for intellectually justifying violence [[TheHorseshoeEffect while himself providing intellectual justifications for Tsarist autocracy]].
** Raskolnikov in ''Literature/CrimeAndPunishment'' argues by citing Napoleon and other ByronicHero, that exceptional people and smart individuals have a right to fully control and determine the lives of those beneath him. Most of the novel is a series of interactions between him and other characters to test out whether his ideas are right or wrong. [[spoiler:In the end, Raskolnikov in a WhatYouAreInTheDark moment, decides that he is in fact right, and that most of the world and social values are bunk and hypocritical, and that the only thing stopping him from being a good person is himself, and in the end, he willingly turning himself in for his crimes]].
** ''Literature/TheBrothersKaramazov'' has this conflict play out between the three brothers of Alyosha, Ivan and Dimitri, children of a nasty father. Ivan is the intellectual who believes that in a world without God or religious belief, "everything is permitted" and is sympathetic to revolutionary violence and other ideas. He even provides a famous parable to Alyosha called "the Grand Inquisitor" that a CorruptChurch's tyranny dwarfs, co-opts and destroys Christ's goodness. But ultimately he faces guilt [[spoiler:for the fact that his ideas drove Smerdyakov, his bastard brother, to commit {{Patricide}} and frame his other brother Dimitri for the crime. Ivan can't handle the guilt of what his ideas achieved in reality and goes insane when Dmitri is sentenced and faces imprisonment for a crime he didn't commit]].

* ''Literature/AtlasShrugged'' has a handful of 'intellectuals' supporting the [[CommieLand People's States]], although the overwhelming majority are unwilling to put forward works stating anything more than uncertainty. Dr. Ferris, author of ''Why Do You Think You Think'' and political force behind creating [[NuclearWeaponsTaboo Project Xylophone]] with a range focused within the continental United States, is the most overt of that branch. Dr. Stadler is the more conventional intellectual, and his brilliance lends to a couple PetTheDog moments, before we discover exactly what he was willing to sell his word and his soul for.

This references a general idea that intellectuals are supposed to be responsible in their social and political opinions, but has a more general application to the phenomenon of such people becoming (at best [[WellIntentionedExtremist misguided]]) sympathizers of the EvilOverlord du jour. In fiction, this is a good variation on NotBrainwashed. Given that they tend to reference actual totalitarian governments, {{dystopia}}n works often have the heroes interacting with this type, who tends to have power in a paradoxically anti-intellectual state.
[[noreallife]]

** In his novel ''Under Western Eyes'' as well as at least one short story, Joseph Conrad has a character called the Professor. It's been noted that this was a somewhat unfair presentation of one of Conrad's friends from the Rossetti family (the same as Dante Gabriel and Christina), who, while politically radical and a chemistry expert, was not involved in terrorism.
*** Same thing in ''Literature/TheSecretAgent''. Appearently based on a real person.

** In ''Ragtime'', one of the sons from the main family of wealthy [=WASPs=] starts out by making fireworks and ends up in this role in the actual anarchist movement (e.g. with Emma Goldman), but is presented sympathetically, more along the lines of HeWhoFightsMonsters. This contrasts with other "Professor" characters who lean in the direction of [[ChaoticEvil simply enjoying things going boom]] despite a basis in radical politics.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'', [[spoiler:Alex Wilder]] dresses up his decision to betray his teammates to cultists who are trying to destroy the world as simply being the most logical play given the circumstances. Of course, it's left ambiguous whether he actually believes this or is just trying to making excuses for a selfish decision.

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Comics ]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Fan Works ]]

* As in the canon ''ComicBook/CivilWar'' story, in ''FanFic/OriginStory'' Tony Stark's justification for shredding the US Constitution when it comes to superhumans is a huge pile of intellectual justification that, in the end, boils down to intellectual support for slavery and facism. When the consequences of his actions are blatantly thrown in his face, Tony Stark has a sudden and painful HeelRealization.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Comic ]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Comic ]]

* In ''Webcomic/TheBMovieComic'', Professor Dr. [[http://www.bmoviecomic.com/?cid=626 instantly supports]] captain Emo's tyrannical regime. This whole trope is lampshaded in TheRant.

[[/folder]]

[[AC:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]

[[AC:{{Comics}}]]

[[AC:Fan Works]]

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]

[[AC:WebComic]]

[[AC:VideoGames]]

->''"Every single empire in its official discourse has said that it is not like all the others, that its circumstances are special, that it has a mission to enlighten, civilize, bring order and democracy, and that it uses force only as a last resort. And, sadder still, [[IntellectuallySupportedTyranny there always is a chorus of willing intellectuals to say calming words about benign or altruistic empires]], as if one shouldn't trust the evidence of one's eyes watching the destruction and the misery and death brought by the latest ''mission civilizatrice''."''

[[AC:Real Life]]
* Pretty much every totalitarian movement from the UsefulNotes/FrenchRevolution to the present day has had prominent intellectual supporters.

* [[ComicBook/TheFantasticFour Reed Richards]] turns from [[ReedRichardsIsUseless useless]] into outright this in Comicbook/CivilWar and ComicBook/MarvelZombies. In Comicbook/CivilWar, he and [[spoiler:Skrull!]]ComicBook/AntMan flank Tony Stark by this. Though in the case of MarvelZombies it's clear that the grief of losing his children left him.... slightly unhinged.

** Keep in mind that these are the surviving Forsaken, during the original War of Power the term Forsaken was used to describe any Channeller who sided with the Dark One. These thirteen Forsaken survived out of sheer luck, being in Shayol Ghul when it was sealed.

[[AC: General]]
* Technocracies (e.g. EmperorScientist) are often used as stock {{dystopia}}s ruled by intellectuals abusing science and philosophy for the sake of power (e.g. MindManipulation and BigBrotherIsWatching technology).

* [[ComicBook/TheFantasticFour Reed Richards]] turns from [[ReedRichardsIsUseless useless]] into outright this in Comicbook/CivilWar and ComicBook/MarvelZombies. In Comicbook/CivilWar, he and [[spoiler:Skrull!]]ComicBook/AntMan flank Tony Stark by this. Though in the case of MarvelZombies it's clear that the grief of losing his children left him.... slightly unhinged.