Puppet ideology

Overview

A puppet ideology is the abuse of an ideology to further the aims of a particular group or individual, typically by convincing followers of the ideology that adherence to the ideology requires some specific action which is not, in fact, consistent with the best ideals of that ideology.

Examples

• Christofascism uses Jesus Christ, a fundamentally peaceful and somewhat liberal figure, as a figurehead in support of intolerance and aggression
• Islamofascism uses the ideology of Islam as a cover for a quasi-fascist agenda of converting or killing all nonbelievers, and killing all who renounce Islam.
• Neoconservatism uses the ideology of US conservatism as a cover for a totalitarian, American imperialist, kleptocratic agenda. The threat of Islamofascism is often used as a stick to convince people of the "unfortunate" necessity of reductions in personal freedom which would normally be considered unacceptable by the vast majority of citizens, leaving those who still do consider them unacceptable in the power minority.