MICHAEL GLASSNER: Socialist Fantasy, Urban Decay: What New York’s Mayoral Race Means For America

The rise of Zohran Mamdani in New York City politics may seem like a local curiosity — just another far-left firebrand in a deep-blue city. But his nomination as the Democratic standard-bearer for mayor is a canary in the coal mine. The Democratic Party’s flirtation with socialism is no longer fringe — it’s on the ballot in America’s largest city, and it carries implications for urban policy, economic liberty, and public safety nationwide.

Mamdani, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, built his brand by promising government control over nearly every aspect of life. He went viral for proposing city-run grocery stores — yes, really — as a solution to high food prices. He rails against capitalism, demonizes landlords and developers, and has pledged to abolish the NYPD as we know it. In other words, he’s offering the same failed formula that has already hollowed out once-great cities like San Francisco, Chicago, and Portland.

This isn’t new. In 1989, when Boris Yeltsin visited a Houston supermarket, he was stunned by the abundance — a moment that helped convince him to abandon the Soviet economic model. He saw firsthand what Mamdani and his ideological peers refuse to admit: markets may not be perfect, but centralized control leads to scarcity, stagnation, and decline.

Yet Mamdani’s brand of socialism is finding an eager audience — especially among younger voters disillusioned by inflation, inequality, and urban dysfunction. That’s what makes this moment dangerous. These policies aren’t just being debated in campus lounges or X/Twitter threads. They’re being tested in real time, in real cities — and they’re failing.

Take housing. Mamdani blames private landlords for high rents and supports rent caps, eviction bans, and punitive regulations that would make new development nearly impossible. The results of that approach are already visible in places like Los Angeles, where anti-growth policies have led to chronic shortages, rising homelessness, and a steady exodus of working families. When investment is treated as exploitation and developers as villains, cities don’t become more equitable — they become unlivable.

The irony is that private capital — including institutional investors — often steps in where government has failed, restoring neglected buildings and expanding housing options. But when politicians treat every profit motive as predatory, even that lifeline dries up. Without incentives to invest, the private sector retreats, and the burden shifts to taxpayers — or worse, to no one at all.

Of course, housing is just one front in a broader ideological war. Mamdani and his fellow socialists promise a world without police, without private property, without profit — a fantasy built on slogans, not solutions. In reality, their agenda would deepen dependence, erode public order, and stifle the very innovation that lifts people out of poverty.

This is more than a New York story. It’s a preview of where progressive politics is headed if left unchecked — and a warning for cities across America. The same forces pushing Mamdani forward are shaping Democratic platforms from coast to coast. And if they succeed, the consequences won’t be confined to the five boroughs.

The American experiment has always depended on individual liberty, entrepreneurial energy, and the rule of law. Mamdani offers an alternative vision — one that replaces these pillars with bureaucracy, redistribution, and grievance politics.

The question for voters isn’t just what kind of city New York will become. It’s what kind of country we want to be.

Michael Glassner is the president of C&M Transcontinental LLC. He served as chief operating officer and deputy campaign manager for Donald J. Trump for President Inc. in the 2016 and 2020 campaigns and was a senior adviser on the 2024 campaign.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.