The People's Guide to Mamdani, Part One

In June, Zohran Kwame Mamdani won the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York, leaving America one election away from placing a literal socialist who condones Islamic terrorism in charge of its largest city. And yet remarkably, not even his political enemies on the right seem to understand why this is a problem.

It’s not, as some say, because Mamdani is Muslim. Nor, as others claim, because he’s an African immigrant. If you truly consider Mamdani a threat, bigotry of this nature is frustrating to witness because it only gifts him the luxury of dismissing his critics as racists, as indeed a disturbing number of them so clearly are, while dragging the conversation away from the specific harms he’s likely to inflict. End Wokeness, for example, an account with 3.7 million followers on X, recently wrote that New York is “fcked” because its next mayor will be a “radical Muslim socialist from Africa who only got citizenship 7 years ago.”

But what’s most upsetting about this accusation is the thought that it might hold currency with a modern American audience or, for that matter, a non-trivial number of people anywhere on the internet because not only is being an African Muslim not a strike against you, but getting citizenship almost a decade ago should be a mark in your favor. Indeed, the only concerning aspect of the allegation is that he’s a “radical Muslim socialist,” although even this needs unpacking because just as critics fault him simply for being Muslim, they also fault him simply for being a democratic socialist, and that’s not the problem. Bernie Sanders is a democratic socialist yet Vermont has the nation’s highest quality of life, third-lowest crime rate, highest electoral integrity, and most craft breweries. Plus, Sanders is consistently ranked the most popular senator in America. Though I admit, “highest quality of life” and “most craft breweries” is technically listing the same thing twice.

So yes, a lot of the negative things being said about this candidate are ignorant or bigoted, leaving open the question of just how concerned we should actually be with the prospect of Mayor Mamdani. And the answer is, we should be extremely worried. But at the same time, America would be a better country if more political candidates took a page from his playbook. Or rather, his manifesto.

The Mamdani Manifesto

In order to understand Mamdani, we have to take a careful look at where he comes from and who his parents are. But first, let’s address the allegation that he’s “a literal socialist who condones Islamic terrorism.”

In 2021, Mamdani spoke at a conference for the Young Democratic Socialists of America, in which he discussed the basic tenets of the party, but emphasized that in addition to short-term political goals, the DSA has a broader vision. “It is socialism that we are fighting for,” he said, describing it as “a journey that should begin as soon as possible for every single person in this country — and in this world.” He added that certain socialist ideas, such as canceling student debt, already enjoy broad support in America, “but then there are also other issues that we firmly believe in, whether it’s BDS or whether it’s the end goal of seizing the means of production, where we do not have the same level of support at this very moment.”