There are 125-odd dollar billionaires in New York City, which is arguably the richest city in the world, a citadel of capitalism, and has a GDP of $2.3 trillion that is larger than most nations. Most of these wealthy individuals eagerly waited for Zohran Mamdani, the newly-elected Indian-African-American and socialist Democratic mayor of New York to deliver his first speech after winning a stunning, and not-so-recently seemingly-unbelievable, victory. He is the youngest city’s mayor in more than a century, with more than a million votes.
Most of the city’s richest were not disappointed with the speech. Or, shall we say, it was what they expected and dreaded. Mamdani, whose mother is the famous Indian film-maker, Mira Nair, paid tribute to Eugene Dibbs. Not many in India, or elsewhere, may have heard of Dibbs, a hardcore American socialist bordering-on-being-a-communist, who fought five presidential elections. Mamdani also invoked Fabian-Socialist Jawaharlal Nehru’s ‘tryst with destiny’ phrase from the latter’s freedom-at-midnight speech.
The mayor-elect, who will take charge in January 2026, cleared the air, once again, about his icons, and heroes. He hinted at what to expect, and what his future agenda will be. Zoran Mamdani may seek to convert New York City from the capitalist showcase that it is to a foundation of populist socialism. The Statue of Liberty, which has ignited the free market policies in parts of Europe, Asia, Latin America, and elsewhere, may turn into non-American blues and reds.
However, the issue is not about Mamdani’s socialism versus a unique and aggressive capitalist version of the US President Donald Trump. The latter will stymie the former’s progress, and has a lot of wild cards up his sleeves. We need to focus on the American citizens, especially youngsters, who face genuine livelihood issues. Whether they are unskilled, semi-skilled, or skilled, many are hardworking, may have acquired debts to fund education, and are willing to go the extra miles to succeed. Sadly, the decks are stacked against them.
Since the 1980s, life for the average American, and especially the younger ones, has become tough. In essence, whether one supports Mamdani or Trump, therein lies the tragedy of both contemporary capitalism and socialism. Both ideologies seem hollow, and mere perversions of the old avatars. In their current forms, both have no resemblance to the original terms, as they evolved a century ago. Henry Ford, the innovator-maker of the Ford cars, an entrepreneur par excellence, and almost a neo-fascist, represented capitalism. The trade unions in his factories represented socialism.
What the world witnessed in the early part of the previous century was a classic class war. Eventually, there was a compromise. Ford started making models that his workers could afford, and that was possibly the most glorious era of capitalism that lasted until the 1980s. Since then, the contours of the ideology, especially in economic and business terms, have changed. Of course, in both the eras, the intention of the capitalists was, and is, to create wealth, most of which is gobbled up by the entrepreneurs who take the risks.
But there is a huge difference. Capitalism during the Ford era meant that capital was raised from the banks, stock markets, and other sources to build physical assets like plants and factories. These created massive townships, and gave direct and indirect jobs to thousands. The companies became a part of the towns and nation’s folklore, and created a giant mass of middle class. For several generations, the car factories in Detroit supported middle-class families, with a single person employed in the plant, and comfortably raising two to three children, along with a wife.
From the 1980s onwards, capitalism began to mirror a brutal, plunderous asset-stripping version of businesses. The capitalist’s role was no longer to invest in productive goods or services, create new factories, generate jobs, and provide quality products at the most competitive prices. Capitalism became a surreal and existential world of leveraged buyouts. From being a sub-universe of prime mortgages, it became one of subprime mortgages. Over the past 50 years, capitalism has become synonymous with taking insane, even foolish, risks with other people’s money, which was cheaply available.
Neocapitalism, as some dub it, has nothing to do with the old version. Wall Street is still around in New York, and considered the most efficient and mature stock market. There are 125-odd billionaires in the city. But the wealthiest do not produce or manufacture things. Most of them deal with finance, wealth, stocks, leveraged buyouts, and ephemeral things like that. Wall Street raises money for projects that hope to create money from money, and values firms with minimal financials at bizarre price-to-earnings.
This then is the new crisis of capitalism, and this is why young Americans face an acute livelihood crisis. If only socialism had a genuine solution to offer. The ideology that Zoran Mamdani espouses, and offers is also a perversion of what the old version meant. During the Ford period, when the trade unions took him on, the latter fought for the rights of workers to earn fair wages, and have better work conditions. In politics too, the Democrats backed the workers.
Mamdani represents a new form of socialism that is dominated by elitist woke brats, for whom everything is about the oppressor and oppressed. It is about class war, ethnic identity battles, and about permanent divisions within the society. Let me give two examples from his latest speech after he won the mayoral elections. Number one, he said that two million New Yorkers will no longer have to pay higher rents, and the landlords will need to live with this reality.
Number two, he maintained that several welfare schemes like universal health care for children, and free bus services will take off, and expanded. Of course, the billionaires and rich will pay for the largesse. In the past, the mayor-elect warned the rich of the city that they have subjected the masses to lower standards, and it was their turn to pay a fair share. Sorry for the pun, and with apologies to the Chinese, but it seems that the wealthiest are in for some interesting times, and these times are not going to be good.
It is an extreme observation but while modern-day capitalism seems to be appropriated by modern-day plunderers, contemporary socialism is the preserve of the new-fangled philanthropists. In capitalism, one sees shades of imperialism, or exploitation in the name of free trade and free markets. In socialism, one sees the hues of authoritarianism in the name of welfare and public good.
The author has worked for leading media houses, authored two books, and is now Executive Director, C Voter Foundation
