Line #27 PlayingWith/IntellectuallySupportedTyranny


1	'''Basic Trope''': The most intelligent people support a tyrannical government.
2	* '''Straight''': The intellectuals support TheEmpire.
3	* '''Exaggerated''': Intellectuals support the EvilEmpire even though it was created entirely and openly for the purpose of [[KickTheDog kicking dogs]] and [[DystopiaJustifiesTheMeans making life hell.]]
4	* '''Downplayed''': The intellectuals don't support the [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeVilified rebels]] and instead think that it's possible to [[InternalReformist reform]] TheEmpire [[InternalReformist from within.]]
5	* '''Justified''':
6	** TheEmpire is highly pro-intellectual and treats people of average or below-average intelligence like they have a disability. They can be bought and sold like everyone else.
7	** TheEmpire controls the educational system and what people learn through college. Intelligent people can still be manipulated, especially if all they learn in college is to support the Empire.
8	** The uneducated are unable to be brainwashed by the Empire specifically because they are uneducated.
9	** TheEmpire is [[WellIntentionedExtremist keeping its citizens safe]] from something worse than any of its mistreatments that only the intellectuals know about.
10	** TheEmpire [[TheUnfettered does not require]] its scientists to adhere to ethical guidelines, instead [[PlayingWithSyringes giving them free range to perform experiments]].
11	** The smart people know that getting on the Empire's bad side is tantamount to suicide.
12	** The intellectuals are still human, and are bribed by the Empire. No level of intelligence can excuse their immoral behavior.
13	* '''Inverted''':
14	** TheEmpire is only supported by [[TheDitz idiots.]]
15	** TheEmpire's main policy is one of AntiIntellectualism.
16	** Intellectuals are TheEmpire's top opponents, carefully balancing their opposition with [[VetinariJobSecurity being too useful to be disposed of]].
17	* '''Subverted''':
18	** The intellectuals only pretend to support TheEmpire out of fear of the SecretPolice.
19	** TheEmpire [[GoodAllAlong isn't actually evil]] despite the [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized rebels believing it to be so]].
20	** TheEmpire's supporting "intellectuals" are [[KnowNothingKnowItAll poseurs]] and buffoons; actual intellectuals are with LaResistance, [[PersecutedIntellectuals having been driven underground]].
21	* '''Double Subverted''':
22	** TheMole claims that he only supports TheEmpire out of fear of the SecretPolice, but then turns around and gives a MotiveRant about why the "philistines" in the Resistance deserve their fate when he inevitably betrays them.
23	** TheEmpire is even worse than its harshest critics thought it was.
24	** Emperor Evulz has pseudo-intellectuals to flatter him in front of the masses, while also having a group of [[HonestAdvisor real intellectuals who are allowed to question Evulz's ideas and plans]].
25	* '''Parodied''': Intelligence tests are based solely on one's support for TheEmpire. This isn't even absurd propaganda -- this is in neutral or enemy countries!
26	* '''Zig-Zagged''':
27	** Some intellectuals support TheEmpire, others don't.
28	*** The support varies mostly by field.
29	** Some intellectuals go back and forth between supporting and opposing TheEmpire.
30	* '''Averted''': It's not shown whether intellectuals support TheEmpire or not.
31	** Intellectuals take a dim view of both the empire and [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized the rebels]] with reasoning explicitly explained in detail.
32	* '''Enforced''':
33	** The Author is an anti-intellectual and is {{demoniz\|ation}}ing intellectuals.
34	** The Author is writing about a real-life dictatorship that performed cruel human experiments.
35	* '''Lampshaded''': "Why does every smart guy support the tyranny? You would think that they'd know better because they're [[ShapedLikeItself smart.]]"
36	* '''Invoked''': Emperor Evulz gives lots of benefits to intellectuals to gain their support.
37	* '''Exploited''': Emperor Evulz uses intellectual support as a [[PropagandaMachine Propaganda Piece]] to {{demoniz\|ation}}e rebels as idiots.
38	* '''Defied''': The rebels go to a lot of trouble to make sure intellectuals know everything there is to know about the [[KickTheDog atrocities]] committed by TheEmpire.
39	* '''Discussed''': "I can't believe all my colleagues agreed to work for TheEmpire! These experiments are utterly barbaric, and they aren't even scientific!"
40	* '''Conversed''': "Well, obviously, that's a more livable place than, say, Khmer Rouge-era Cambodia, but that might make it worse for good government in the long run because the best and the brightest can come up with good defences of their regime."
41	* '''Deconstructed''': The support that TheEmpire had from the intellectuals (real or [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized imagined]]) causes anti-intellectualism to flourish post-revolution, resulting in a [[ThePurge purge.]] After ThePurge, the rebels, who are now in charge, have a lot of difficulty rebuilding damaged infrastructure due to the [[BrainDrain loss of people with difficult-to-replace technical skills.]]
42	* '''Reconstructed''': For that reason, they learned the technical skills from the disfavoured intellectuals -- though said intellectuals remain disfavoured for the good reason that they supported the repressive former regime. So, they think in terms of GoodPowersBadPeople here.
43	* '''Implied''': Imperial representatives shown to be WickedCultured are visiting a region where TheEmpire is unpopular. Locals denounce them using SlobsVersusSnobs rhetoric.
44	----
45	Back to IntellectuallySupportedTyranny
46	----
47	%%Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
48	%%* '''Plotted a Good Waste''': ???
49	%%* '''Played for Laughs''': ???

Context PlayingWith / IntellectuallySupportedTyranny