Why New York Fell for Socialism

The troubling rise of Zohran Mamdani is about more than policy. It's about culture.

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A self-proclaimed socialist is on track to become New York City's next mayor.

The rise of Zohran Mamdani represents a troubling moment in American politics. In some ways, his candidacy isn't a radical departure from the mainstream Democratic Party. He promises to "freeze the rent for millions," make buses "free" in part to prevent disgruntled riders from attacking bus drivers, and provide "universal" (i.e., government-sponsored) day care. When Kamala Harris ran for president, she pledged to "cap unfair rent increases" by suing corporate landlords. Elizabeth Warren regularly calls for universal childcare and wealth taxes. Like Mamdani, Democratic Congress member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and former Democratic presidential nominee Bernie Sanders believe that "billionaires shouldn't exist."

"Let's not pretend that [Mamdani's success] is from nowhere," says Inez Stepman, a New York writer and legal analyst. "He is radical for the Democratic Party, but he's also just being more honest about the policies that a particular wing of the Democratic Party have pushed for a long time."

Mamdani sees it this way too, telling Stephen Colbert in an interview that his election is "a referendum on where our party goes."

That's concerning because Mamdani isn't the type of socialist who's content to say that the U.S. should just be a little more like Denmark. He's a "seize the means of production" kind of guy.

Mamdani, at the time a New York state assembly member, told a crowd at the 2021 Young Democratic Socialists of America conference that while it's important to lead with issues where he believes socialists have popular support—such as Medicare for All or student loan cancellation—that it's critical to never abandon "the end goal of seizing the means of production, where we do not have the same level of support at this very moment." For that reason, Mamdani continues, "we have to continue to elect more socialists, and we have to ensure that we are unapologetic about our socialism."

Mamdani's ambition is nothing less than leading the vanguard of the new American socialist movement. His message is resonating with young voters in particular, who turned out in record numbers for Mamdani in the Democratic primary.

Socialism was tried, and failed, repeatedly in the 20th century, racking up a death toll of 100 million lives. Millions more still live under socialism's long, dark shadow in North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela.

So why does the socialist movement never seem to die?

Producer: Zach Weissmueller

Video editor: John Osterhoudt

Graphics: Lex Villena

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Music credits: Scenery by Kai Engel/Creative Commons