Fairytale of New York?
Sometimes, there is good news. In the era of Trump 2.0, it might come only in small doses, but we ought to grab it with both hands when it presents itself.
New York’s political earthquake is one such piece of news. In the nerve centre of global finance and the fortress of US liberal Zionism, a self-declared socialist who opposes Israeli apartheid and calls out its genocide has won the Democratic Party’s nomination for mayor. Zohran Mamdani overcame a campaign of slander—and a river of Wall Street money flowing to his chief opponent—by pulling together an army of volunteers and what appears to be an unprecedented mobilisation of young voters.
The immediate backdrop to the victory was millions of people protesting across the US, through April, May and June, against the Trump administration and its reactionary agenda, including militant protests in Los Angeles against deportations. New York ought to be viewed as part of the broader resistance to Trump and a repudiation of the Democratic Party’s failure to challenge the administration.
While this was an electoral mobilisation, and therefore inherently limited compared to a social movement, it proved to be more transformative of the political situation than any of the street protests. They showed that masses of people are prepared to stand up to Trump in some way or another, but none significantly shifted the political dial.
The difference is primarily due to Mamdani defeating the combined efforts of the New York establishment. And that’s what people see: a precious victory on the terrain most favourable to the rich and powerful—capitalist elections that mostly go the way of those with the most money and connections. It’s a tremendous feel-good story for the left to break through at the very moment that people are most worried about a fascist takeover of US politics, and as Trump and the billionaires seem to have everything going their way.
Mamdani’s campaign demonstrated that there is a significant base of young people who want a left alternative to both Trumpism and the sclerotic, right-wing Democratic Party status quo. While his campaign focused on class questions—New York is the most expensive and unequal city in America—surely it is no coincidence that this earthquake followed last year’s major political tremor: the Palestine solidarity encampment movement, which precipitated a crisis in liberal Zionism and among the Democratic base, and politicised campuses across the city. The Democratic establishment that now stands humiliated at the hands of a mass bloc of 18–35-year-old voters is the same establishment that relentlessly smeared and violently smashed the city’s encampments—and which declared that this election was primarily about Mamdani’s opposition to genocide.
Yet this is not only a New York story. The November mayoral election is shaping up to be one of national significance. Trump, the Republicans and a section of the Democratic establishment want to make Mamdani an avatar for everything they are against. Millions of people inspired by his program—doubling the minimum wage, making child care free, resisting the deportation agenda, making housing affordable and taxing the rich—likewise see in New York a vision of the sort of political alternative they want nationally.
This is not just an American tale, either. The US leads the world culturally and politically; often, that influence is malign. So when Trump wins, right-wingers on every continent import and adapt his toxic brand of politics to local conditions. When trash liberal social theories—often some variant of the self-absorbed, moralistic identity politics that dominate universities—become fashionable in the US, they permeate progressive circles around the world, stifling the development of a genuine left.
But the US also has a history of exporting hope. And right now, left-wing and progressive people around the world are cheering. Finally, it’s not another headline about another fascist advance somewhere in the world. Finally, the news coming out of America is not only about the latest horror inflicted by the White House on workers and the oppressed. Finally, there is a sense of victory—a feeling that the political establishment everywhere could be rocked, even defeated, by a political alternative organised around a simple message: less for the rich and more for the poor, regardless of race, gender or legal status.
Mamdani is not only on everyone’s lips. His coalition is the future of the left and potentially of big-city political culture and sensibilities: young, socialist-leaning, pro-Palestinian and open to anti-imperialism. That the Democratic establishment—Wall Street billionaires and liberal imperialists—have been totally embarrassed and are now seemingly engulfed in crisis is the cherry on top.
Recognising these positives doesn’t mean drinking the Kool-Aid of municipal socialism, however. So to be clear: the good news is not that Mamdani could become mayor of the biggest city in the United States. The mayor’s office is not akin to a seat in a legislature from which a socialist could consistently organise resistance and build a socialist party. The New York mayoral office is one of America’s most powerful executive positions—running the country’s largest police force, enforcing all local and state laws in its biggest city and ultimately ensuring that Wall Street finance functions smoothly.
Without the backing of a mass socialist party and an insurgent working-class movement, even the most principled of revolutionary Marxists would be incapable of withstanding the institutional and ruling-class pressures that are brought to bear on the chief executive of capitalism’s most important city.
Given the current balance of class forces, a moderate like Mamdani has no chance. His organisation, the Democratic Socialists of America, would be no counterweight to the social and economic power of New York’s ruling class and upper-middle classes. The party can’t even hold to account elected representatives with zero formal responsibilities—the list of DSA members or DSA-endorsed legislators who have gone on to make peace with the Democratic Party establishment is hardly a secret. Indeed, if Mamdani were to win, many DSA members would likely be brought into government jobs to help administer New York capitalism.
Mamdani is already working hand-in-glove with sections of the Democratic Party. That ought to come as no surprise—he ran as a Democrat, after all. He may go further trying to prove himself a “competent” safe pair of hands for the New York business class. If he were to compromise enough, he could even be welcomed into the fold before the November election. Stranger things have happened.
If such things transpire and Mamdani’s supporters aren’t prepared, they could easily become demoralised or cynical, or politically drift to the right as they justify the capitulations as just being realistic.
That’s why Marxists emphasise the building of politicised social movements and the organised power of the working class. Our side can certainly have victories in which people play a more or less passive role. However, lifting political consciousness and building political resilience require much more than electoral campaigning. Genuine “realism” begins with understanding that capitalist institutions—such as the Democratic Party and the state—are obstacles to social change that need to be smashed rather than embraced.
Nevertheless, another scenario could be that the New York establishment coalesces around an alternative candidate who seems likely to win easily. In that case, Mamdani could double down on the most left-wing aspects of his program and inspire even more people to look to socialist politics for solutions to the obvious problems of capitalist society.
These “ifs”, “buts”, “maybes” and “probablys” will be the subject of more coverage and conversations in the coming weeks and months as the campaign unfolds. The script isn’t entirely written in advance—time, as always, will tell.
But for now, the good news is in: a socialist message has politically galvanised masses of young people in the heart of global capitalism; and that message has echoed from the five boroughs of New York, inspiring people across oceans. True, the good news could be short-lived. But it ought to be a shot in the arm for everyone trying to build a socialist party.
