Democratic socialism, according to Zohran Mamdani

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New York City’s Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani was the Democratic party’s candidate in the election, but he proudly describes himself as a democratic socialist alongside left-wing lawmakers like Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.

Mamdani quoted the most famous American socialist, Eugene Debs, in his acceptance speech Tuesday night and talked about doing more for “working people” as opposed to the rich.

There’s a fair amount of confusion and fear generated in the US by the term “socialist,” which is associated with repressive societies like Communist China, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, USSR, North Korea or Cuba.

So it’s worth looking at what Mamdani and his supporters mean by it (think social programs in Western Europe) and also how the political right will use it against Democrats.

President Donald Trump, for instance, liked to call Mamdani a communist and has threatened to pull federal funding from New York City when Mamdani is mayor.

What does a democratic socialist believe in?

CNN’s Erin Burnett has talked to Mamdani multiple times about the term and his beliefs, including after he won the Democratic primary and after Trump tried to label Mamdani as a communist.

In June, Burnett asked Mamdani if he liked capitalism.

MAMDANI: No, I have many critiques of capitalism. And I think ultimately, the definition for me of why I call myself a democratic socialist is the words of Dr. King decades ago. He said, call it democracy or call it democratic socialism. There must be a better distribution of wealth for all of god’s children in this country.

And that’s what I’m focused on, is dignity and taking on income inequality. And for too long, politicians have pretended that we’re spectators to that crisis of affordability. We’re actually actors, and we have the choice to exacerbate it, like Mayor Adams has done, or to respond to it and resolve it like I’m planning to do.

He frequently returns to that Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. quote to describe democratic socialism.

There is no easily discoverable transcript of the relevant speech, according to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute. But the quote did appear in press reports, including in the New York Times, around King’s speech to the May 1965 Negro American Labor Council convention.

Is that type of socialism counter to the American Dream?

Burnett countered that a lot of Mamdani’s fellow immigrants to the US come to the country to seek wealth. Does he not believe that’s part of the American dream?

MAMDANI: I think the dream at its core is a dream for stability in one’s life. And what you’re saying that you work hard enough and that you then reap the benefits — too many New Yorkers, and Americans for that matter, are working eight hours and then still feeling like they haven’t made enough money to keep living in the city they call home.

He told NBC News that no, he is not a communist, despite Trump’s repeated claims.

What’s the difference between democratic socialism and communism?

Communism, as expressed in “The Communist Manifesto,” supports the idea that there will be a class war in which private property and the means of production are seized for the public good. Think “Animal Farm.”

Democratic socialism does not support the notion of a class war and instead pursues socialist goals through democratic means.

What are Mamdani’s democratic socialist policy ideas?

Mamdani’s big policy ideas are all focused on making life more affordable for working people.

• Housing: Freeze the rents for 1 million people in rent-controlled apartments.

• Transportation: Subsidize New York City buses to make them free to riders.

• Childcare: Make child care free for New Yorkers

• Grocery: Start a pilot program of one city-run grocery star in each borough to see whether removing the profit motive makes groceries cheaper.

Mamdani also wants to increase taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and on the city’s corporations, but those proposals would require approval by the state legislature. Read more on Mamdani’s policy ideas from CNN’s Gloria Pazmino.

Is there evidence that Mamdani is a full-on socialist?

There is some. Take his Debs quote, which opened his acceptance speech Tuesday night.

“I can see the dawn of a better day for humanity,” Mamdani said, quoting Debs’ remarks in court after his conviction for violating a World War I era law that forbade interfering with military recruitment.

It was a sensational trial at the time. The Supreme Court would ultimately uphold the conviction and Debs would go on to run for president from his jail cell.

It’s worth reading a bit more from Debs’ remarks.

DEBS: I believe, Your Honor, in common with all Socialists, that this nation ought to own and control its own industries. I believe, as all Socialists do, that all things that are jointly needed and used ought to be jointly owned — that industry, the basis of our social life, instead of being the private property of a few and operated for their enrichment, ought to be the common property of all, democratically administered in the interest of all…

I am opposing a social order in which it is possible for one man who does absolutely nothing that is useful to amass a fortune of hundreds of millions of dollars, while millions of men and women who work all the days of their lives secure barely enough for a wretched existence.

It’s that notion of seizing the means of production to which Mamdani’s fiercest critics have pointed. In comments he made on a recorded session for student activists with Young Democratic Socialists of America in 2021, he said that was the “end goal” of socialists like him.

But he counseled activists to focus on popular proposals many people agree with like Medicare for All.

MAMDANI: The many things that we believe, some of them are already popular in this moment right now, right? If we’re talking about the cancellation of student debt, if we’re talking about Medicare for All, these are issues which have the groundswell of popular support across this country. But then there are also other issues that we firmly believe in, whether it’s BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions), right? Or whether it is the end goal of seizing the means of production, where we do not have the same level of support at this very moment.

He suggested that people would ultimately be convinced of the end goal.

But that was a one-off comment in the midst of a Q and A session. When Mamdani made a video in the same period to explain his views of socialism, he did not talk about seizing the means of production, but rather looking out for human dignity.

MAMDANI: I’m a Democratic socialist, and what socialism means to me is a commitment to dignity, a state that provides whatever is necessary for its people to live a dignified life. So the typical big three that we talk about are housing, health care, education.

Does the US have any socialist programs?

The US has a social safety net that was built up under the presidencies of Franklin D. Roosevelt in the New Deal and Lyndon B. Johnson with his Great Society. It is intended to help all Americans maintain a standard of living. People pay into Social Security and then claim benefits in retirement or when they are disabled. They pay taxes that support Medicare and then get discounted health care in old age. Medicaid helps low-income families afford health care. SNAP benefits help people afford food. Clearly these programs do not go far enough for democratic socialists or a lot of other Americans.

Most Americans aren’t democratic socialists. But most Americans aren’t MAGA either.

Around one-quarter of voters in New York City’s mayoral election said in exit polls released Tuesday that they considered themselves to be democratic socialists. As an indication of how labels can be squirrely, 12% of those democratic socialists supported Andrew Cuomo, not Mamdani, in the race. It is a much more popular label in New York City than MAGA, which was self-applied by just 11% of voters.

Democratic socialism is less popular nationwide than it is in New York City. In a CNN poll conducted by SSRS and released in September, 17% of Americans said they thought of themselves as a democratic socialist, on par with the 18% who thought of themselves as MAGA.

Views of socialism

Americans’ views of socialism have been generally and steadily poor in recent decades. Just 36% had a positive view in 2010, according to Gallup. This year, 39% had a positive view. At the same time, views of capitalism have dropped, from 61% positive in 2010 to 54% today.

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