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The term ignorantsia usually refers to a person lacking knowledge. In this instance, however, it has a wider meaning. So, what does the word mean? At first blush, the word is a rough proxy for the “masses” (or plebeians or more accurately the “unwashed masses”), and it is a play on the word intelligentsia. To start with, however, it is super-important to stress that it is used in a social structurally neutral sense. That is, members of the ignorantsia are not restricted to a specific group of people—be they categorized in terms of class, gender, nationality, ethnicity, race, religion, age, educational qualifications, etc.
The term ignorantsia usually refers to a person lacking knowledge. In this instance, however, it has a wider meaning. So, what does the word mean? At first blush, the word is a rough proxy for the “masses” (or plebeians or more accurately the “unwashed masses”), and it is a play on the word intelligentsia. To start with, however, it is super-important to stress that it is used in a social structurally neutral sense. That is, members of the ignorantsia are not restricted to a specific group of people—be they categorized in terms of class, gender, nationality, ethnicity, race, religion, age, educational qualifications, etc.
The term ignorantsia refers to those among the masses who lack political consciousness and hence are ignorant of their place within the matrix of hierarchic power relations that characterize all capitalist societies, as a consequence of which they engage in political behavior that fundamentally go against their objective interests and thereby help to strengthen the oppressive power of the ruling elites they should be opposed to. Note, however, that the term does not refer to members of the ruling elites. In the West especially, the ignorantsia are those among the masses who have surrendered wholesale their critical intellect to ‘Big Business’ in exchange for crumbs from its table. Mesmerized by the ideology of capitalist consumerism—undergirded by the ideology of neoliberalism (see Metcalf [2017])—the ignorantsia are unwilling to question the domination of their lives by the dictates and demands of big business. Historically, this problem of course is of long standing and has been the basis of the enduring hegemony of the ruling classes in the West (and today it has spread to the rest of the world). For example, this is how one very astute observer, W.E.B. DuBois, described this matter more than a hundred years ago, albeit in a slightly different political context (imperialism):
The term ignorantsia refers to those among the masses who lack political consciousness and hence are ignorant of their place within the matrix of hierarchic power relations that characterize all capitalist societies, as a consequence of which they engage in political behavior that fundamentally go against their objective interests and thereby help to strengthen the oppressive power of the ruling elites they should be opposed to. Note, however, that the term does not refer to members of the ruling elites. In the West especially, the ignorantsia are those among the masses who have surrendered wholesale their critical intellect to ‘Big Business’ in exchange for crumbs from its table. Mesmerized by the ideology of capitalist consumerism—undergirded by the ideology of neoliberalism (see Metcalf [2017])—the ignorantsia are unwilling to question the domination of their lives by the dictates and demands of big business. Historically, this problem of course is of long standing and has been the basis of the enduring hegemony of the ruling classes in the West (and today it has spread to the rest of the world). For example, this is how one very astute observer, W.E.B. DuBois, described this matter more than a hundred years ago, albeit in a slightly different political context (imperialism):
If we are coming to recognize that the great modern problem is to correct maladjustment in the distribution of wealth… [then] in this crime white labor is particeps criminis with white capital. Unconsciously and consciously, carelessly and deliberately, the vast power of the white labor vote in modern democracies has been cajoled and flattered into imperialistic schemes to enslave and debauch black, brown and yellow labor, until with fatal retribution they are themselves today bound and gagged and rendered impotent by the resulting monopoly of the world’s raw material in the hands of a dominant, cruel and irresponsible few. (1921, p. 7)
If we are coming to recognize that the great modern problem is to correct maladjustment in the distribution of wealth… [then] in this crime white labor is particeps criminis with white capital. Unconsciously and consciously, carelessly and deliberately, the vast power of the white labor vote in modern democracies has been cajoled and flattered into imperialistic schemes to enslave and debauch black, brown and yellow labor, until with fatal retribution they are themselves today bound and gagged and rendered impotent by the resulting monopoly of the world’s raw material in the hands of a dominant, cruel and irresponsible few. (1921, p. 7)
Needless to say, the term ignorantsia has a pejorative flavor surrounding it; this is not accidental: it is a response to the frustration and exasperation (but not hopelessness) with the illogical self-destructive behavior of the ignorantsia. Moreover, it comes from the belief that there is sufficient room in Western capitalist societies for the ignorantsia to develop alternative ways of thinking and behaving so as to break the mental chains that bind them to the capitalist class.
Needless to say, the term ignorantsia has a pejorative flavor surrounding it; this is not accidental: it is a response to the frustration and exasperation (but not hopelessness) with the illogical self-destructive behavior of the ignorantsia. Moreover, it comes from the belief that there is sufficient room in Western capitalist societies for the ignorantsia to develop alternative ways of thinking and behaving so as to break the mental chains that bind them to the capitalist class.
In other words: the ignorantsia are not entirely blameless for their ignorant condition. No capitalist class physically forces them to, for example, watch the crass money games on prime-time television rather than say a mind-opening program on PBS (Public Broadcasting Service—a free noncommercial television channel in the U.S. funded mainly by viewers and private organizations [including, interestingly, big business]). To put it differently, in societies where the forces of what may be called coercive oppression work more at the mental level (via the agencies of the corporate media, government, etc.) rather than at the physical level (imprisonment without trial, torture, political murders, etc. etc.) the oppressed must also bear responsibility for their oppression; otherwise not only is everything hopeless, but those who are concerned with justice might as well close up shop and go home.
In other words: the ignorantsia are not entirely blameless for their ignorant condition. No capitalist class physically forces them to, for example, watch the crass money games on prime-time television rather than say a mind-opening program on PBS (Public Broadcasting Service—a free noncommercial television channel in the U.S. funded mainly by viewers and private organizations [including, interestingly, big business]). To put it differently, in societies where the forces of what may be called coercive oppression work more at the mental level (via the agencies of the corporate media, government, etc.) rather than at the physical level (imprisonment without trial, torture, political murders, etc. etc.) the oppressed must also bear responsibility for their oppression; otherwise not only is everything hopeless, but those who are concerned with justice might as well close up shop and go home.
In light of the foregoing, the term ignorantsia, therefore, must be seen to incorporate two implicit messages: despair and hope.
In light of the foregoing, the term ignorantsia, therefore, must be seen to incorporate two implicit messages: despair and hope.
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