When I tell people, paraphrasing Socrates, that ignorance is the root of all evil, I find a lot of adversity

Large part of this could be culture. Growing up with a (Theravada) Buddhist upbringing, ignorance being the root of all evil was almost common sense. Sometimes 3 roots are mentioned; Greed, Hate & Ignorance. Texts mention greed and hateas something that is easier to get rid of. In case you are interested you can start reading this blog written by a physicist: https://puredhamma.net