Definition

1. Noun:

   • Obscurantist: A person who deliberately prevents knowledge, enlightenment, or the development of intellectual capacity among the general population. This term criticizes a policy or ideology aimed at keeping people in ignorance.
   • Stupid people / ignorant masses: A derogatory and critical term referring to a populace that is kept or perceived as uneducated and uninformed, often as a result of deliberate policy.

2. Adjective (Attributive use):

   • Obscurantist: Describing a policy, strategy, or action designed to keep a population ignorant in order to make them easier to control. For example, "a ngu dân policy."

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • Nhà cầm quyền đó bị cáo buộc là kẻ ngu dân. (That ruler is accused of being an obscurantist.)
  • Chính sách ấy chỉ tạo ra một lớp ngu dân. (That policy only creates a class of ignorant people.)

• Adjective:

  • Họ theo đuổi một chính sách ngu dân. (They pursue an obscurantist policy.)
  • Đó là một thủ đoạn ngu dân điển hình. (That is a typical obscurantist tactic.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is almost exclusively used in political, historical, or sociological criticism. It is a strong pejorative term and is not used in neutral or positive contexts.
• It often appears in analyses of colonial, authoritarian, or totalitarian regimes accused of suppressing education and free thought.

Variants and Related Words

• Sự ngu dân (n): Obscurantism. The practice or policy of deliberately preventing the spread of knowledge.
  • Sự ngu dân là công cụ của chế độ độc tài. (Obscurantism is a tool of dictatorship.)

Synonyms

• Obscurantist: One who opposes the spread of knowledge.
• Anti-intellectual: One who is hostile or dismissive towards intellectual pursuits and values.
• Demagogue: A political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular desires and prejudices rather than by using rational argument (related in the context of manipulating an uninformed public).

Related Concepts

• Obscurantism: The practice of deliberately preventing the facts or full details of something from becoming known; the policy of keeping people in ignorance.
• Dân trí: A Vietnamese term meaning "the intellectual level of the people." "Ngu dân" policies are the direct opposite of policies aimed at raising "dân trí."

1. stupid people