Would a Mamdani win in November’s race for NYC’s mayor be a positive or negative
outcome? Passions are running high on both sides of the question. There is a good, if
unorthodox, argument to be made for a Mamdani victory.
My conservative friends are howling at this. Read on.
We have been told that the United States has become a nation divided by extreme
political positions. Has this polarization become so entrenched that we may never
return to civil discussion of the issues?
Perhaps. But New York City’s upcoming mayoral election offers a chance to move us
back from the toxic political environment gripping the country. Consider a Mamdani
victory as the catalyst to achieve that.
Huh? How would a Mamdani administration heal the divisions we struggle with today?
It will take two or three years, but a Mamdani administration would allow us to clearly
see if the Progressive Left does, indeed, have answers to the future direction of the
United States. Will we flourish as a nation having addressed the ills that capitalism has
wrought? Will the elimination of social injustice, income inequality, and the suppression
of opportunity finally liberate the power of the masses? Or will Mamdani’s New York
stagnate into a downward spiral of fleeing businesses, rising unemployment, a shrinking
tax base, and broken promises? Will conservative capitalism prove to be a more viable
alternative?
Admittedly, this experiment flies in the face of effective democracy. A truly functional
democracy demands that citizens cast their ballot based on careful consideration of
each candidate’s policy positions and how those positions might benefit society at large.
Instead, the Mamdani experiment asks that we suspend our vision of democracy.
Rather than casting our vote based on the candidate’s policy positions, we must say,
“Okay, we understand the honorable goal of uplifting all, but will it work?” That would
call for a Mamdani vote.
Of course this is not fair to those New Yorkers stuck in the middle of the experiment.
But it might just encourage us to discuss contentious issues based on empirical
evidence (New York’s success or failure) rather than easily manipulated emotion.
That emotion and passion is admirable, but is it based on objective analysis of facts?
Maybe yes, maybe no. Witness the loud and energized crowds that came out to
support Bernie Sanders and Ellizabeth Warren in 2024. Had they considered the
practicality of their positions? Again, maybe yes, maybe no. These same voters are
aligning themselves behind Zohran Mamdani.
We need to find out if they are right.