"Imperialist running dog"

[W3DW]

What does the Cold War phrase "Imeprialist running dog" mean - I mean, what's with the running dog part?

[andy hughes]

I think it refers to dogs who run with the pack, and translates as people who go along with mass opinion, and have no individual ideas.

[bernardo]

It's originally a Maoist phrase, and is often also used in the context of "running dog of capitalism" which I have always taken to mean a selfish, individualist person who grasps as much as possible for himself, without any social responsibility. So it refers to selfish capital accumulation and profiteering by bloated capitalist plutocrats - presumably at the expense of the oppressed workers and peasants from whom the surplus value is extracted.