Hoover Institution Senior Fellow Victor Davis Hanson revealed on Thursday that he believes socialist Democratic New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is going to see how "far he can go" if he wins the election, a prediction derived from a statement he made in 2021.
Hanson made the comments during an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity.
Republicans and a handful of Democrats have heavily scrutinized Mamdani for his past anti-police remarks and his refusal to denounce the phrase "globalize the intifada."
Hanson discussed the deepening divide between Americans on the left and right during the interview, which led Hannity to ask him if, despite these ideological differences, reconciliation between the two sides was possible.
“Well, they’re incompatible with the history of the United States, the 249 years, and you have to refute them at the polls. Everybody has to get out in November and do something historic and win for the end party, the Republicans. A huge midterm victory, and that will refute it,” Hanson explained. “That’s how McGovernism was refuted. That’s how Carterism was, but this is much more extreme.”
Hanson highlighted one of Mamdani's most recent controversies: his use of the phrase "seizing the means of production," a foundational pillar of socialist and communist ideology.
Philosopher Friedrich Engels, co-founder of Marxism, wrote in his book, Socialism: Utopian and Scientific, that when a society takes over the means of production, "production of commodities is done away with, and, simultaneously, the mastery of product over the producer."
The government taking over the means of production ultimately leads to the end of private ownership of property. A person no longer owns anything, including the fruits of their labor.
In a free market economy, the price for goods and services rises and falls based on the principles of supply and demand. For example, if apples grow scarce, their price goes up. This tells farmers they need to grow more apples.
When the government seizes the means of production, central planners set prices instead of allowing markets to adjust. If the price of apples is set too low, the demand skyrockets, but farmers have no incentive to produce more. And that leads to food shortages and empty store shelves.
When central planners try to plan for the needs of millions of people, they ultimately create mismatches because the needs of human beings are in a constant state of change. For example, they might have workers produce a ton of shoelaces when, in reality, what people need is more milk.
Incentives for creative innovation and progress disappear due to everyone being rewarded the same, regardless of effort. Workers produce poor-quality products because they have no reason to work harder or innovate.
The USSR, Mao’s China, Cuba, and Venezuela all proved socialism fails, yet liberals in America still champion it as the best system of government — a supposed cure-all for inequality.
The Daily Caller reported:
During a Young Democratic Socialists of America winter conference in 2021, Mamdani appeared on the livestream as a guest speaker. Attending for an over 40-minute session, Mamdani said that while some issues like Medicare and eliminating student debt have “popular” support in the U.S., others, like “the end goal of seizing the means of production” don’t have the same support “at this very moment.”
“David made a really good point, Sean, that Mamdani didn’t say this as a young person; he said it just four years ago. And he used this term, ‘seize the means of production.’ That’s a direct English translation of a German catchphrase by Friedrich Engels,” Hanson explained to Hannity. “If you look at what he said, [it] was you've got to be very slow and get people acculturated, but just because you’re moving them toward that direction doesn’t mean your ultimate goal is not to seize the means of production.”
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If Mamdani gets elected in November, he's promised to raise the minimum wage to $30. This will naturally drain local businesses of their profits and lead to a reduction in staff, along with passing on the cost of the employees they keep to the customer.
Along with that, he wants to create government-run grocery stores. Think, for a moment, about the incompetence of the individuals who run the Department of Motor Vehicles. Now imagine those same people running a supermarket. I don't think I need to spell it out for you.
Like all socialists, Mamdani also wants to tax "richer and whiter" neighborhoods. A higher tax for some individuals based on class and race? Sounds a bit bigoted, doesn't it?
The threat of Mamdani winning the election has frightened city business owners so much that reports say many may bolt if he takes office.
You don't have to be an economist with a doctorate degree to see that Mamdani becoming New York's next mayor would be bad for the city's health. Residents of the Big Apple should definitely be concerned about the real possibility of their beloved New York being remade in the image of Marx.
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