The Video That Will Ruin Your Faith in Gen Z — and the One That Might Restore It

In the wake of Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s victory in New York City, it’s hard to be optimistic about America’s young voters. An Axios poll released days before the mayoral election found that a concerning 67% of U.S. college students have either a positive or neutral association with the word “socialism.” And it appears they have an even greater appreciation for the word “Zohran,” as roughly three-fourths of voters under 30 cast their ballots for the anti-capitalist who promised them government-run grocery stores.

While these numbers are depressing for those of us who don’t want to see American supermarket shelves resemble those in Venezuela, the data alone might be explained away as part of a natural political development cycle—a youthful naïveté that will eventually give way to a more mature conservatism. As the famous saying goes, “If you are young and not liberal, then you have no heart; but if you are old and not conservative, then you have no brain.”

But liberalism is not socialism, and what if their young minds are being permanently damaged by dangerous TikTok algorithms and the brainwashing of anti-American teachers?

It’s hard to avoid that conclusion after watching TikTok reactions to Mamdani’s win in this compilation video released by Ben Shapiro:

The second young woman featured in the video makes the dubious claim that American schools actually do teach that socialism is bad (which schools is she talking about so I can enroll my kids ASAP?). Even if they were teaching kids not to hate capitalism (they’re not), this woman makes it clear they’re doing a terrible job.

I think the vast majority of Americans do not understand socialism whatsoever. You have been bred throughout our entire education to believe that socialism is this evil, bad, big-government dictatorship thing. When, in reality, a simple Google search would literally prove that wrong. Socialism is simply just a concept that the good of the people, as a collective, is prioritized by the government over private ownership and private wealth.

She, of course, favors the Democratic Socialists of America-approved "C" word — collective — over "capitalism." As the DSA website explains: "We want to collectively own the key economic drivers that dominate our lives, such as energy production and transportation."

Why is this type of message so appealing to young voters? Paul Mueller, in a warning about a "wave of radical socialist sentiment," writes in Law & Liberty:

Collectivism is a kind of "political junk food" that people crave in periods when they are particularly hungry for community and solidarity. Collectivism means socializing things through force, rather than through voluntary community. Collectivism demands forced redistribution of wealth and uses this or that version of the “common” interest to undermine individual ownership, choice, and rights.

This political outlook is particularly devastating for young people, as Mueller explains:

Consider again the young college graduates who drove Mamdani’s radical candidacy to electoral success. They engaged, for a time, in political advocacy. But what do they do after the sugar rush fades? Do they return to building their families? Most are not married, and those who are likely don’t have children. Do they return to building up their churches, synagogues, or mosques? Most are not part of these institutions. We can be forgiven for wondering whether they engage in real civic associations at all.

Speaking of families, the first young woman in the video advises on how to talk to family members who say Mamdani is a socialist. This is advice that many young liberals will surely be following this Thanksgiving:

If you encounter someone who tries to tell you he is a socialist, like, let's say, your boomer parents, this is what you need to explain to them. Mamdani is not a socialist. He’s a democratic socialist. Socialist countries are like North Korea and Cuba. You know what Mamdani is? A democratic socialist.

Of course, Mamdani has flat-out said he doesn't like capitalism. Not even Pedro Sánchez, the prime minister of Spain and member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (emphasis added), would say that out loud. I've written before about the similarities between Mamdani and Sanchez: They're both self-proclaimed feminists who hate Israel about as much as they love high taxes, and the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party advocates for "social democracy" just as Mamdani's DSA does.

How’s that working out for young people in Spain? The youth unemployment rate is about 25%, one of the highest in Europe, and about that many — 1 in 4 20-to-40-year-olds — still live at home.

Now for the good news: Young Spaniards are increasingly realizing that the radical left’s policies are failing to improve their lives, with a growing number turning to the conservative, populist Vox party. A recent poll found that 27.9% of 18- to 24-year-olds, and 26% of 25-to-34-year-olds, plan to cast their ballot for Vox at the next election. The Economist reports, "Among Spanish men aged under 25 Vox is now the leading party, and among males under 45 it enjoys more support than the mainstream conservative People’s Party."

Just as Mamdani calls Trump a fascist, the mainstream media and the political establishment attempt to dismiss Vox by labeling it far-right, even as it represents the values and concerns of ordinary Spaniards.

Here’s a video featuring young people explaining why they support Vox. They sound a little wiser than the TikTokers above.

One young Spaniard says of Vox leader Santiago Abascal, "I think he’s the future president of Spain, and the only salvation we have for this country."

His friend says, "Yes, the truth is that what we have now is terrible. I mean, this has to come out because if not, we’re going to end up like underdeveloped countries. And this can’t happen."

Another young man puts the lie to the claim that Vox is the continuation of former Spanish dictator Francisco Franco: "There is a lot of talk about the right being pro-Franco. And I have to stay that Franco died in 1975. Francoism no longer exists. So to portray a right-wing party as pro-Franco is absurd."

Finally, another young man expresses his exasperation with a political class that isn’t responding to people’s needs: "Honestly, [we need] someone who is going to save us from the government we have right now because it’s the only option we have left because they constantly lie to us with everything the government says like [about] the housing [crisis]."

Maybe "crazy" boomer parents should arm themselves with this video at the Thanksgiving dinner table to counter the claims of their pro-Mamdani socialist kids.

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