This month Zohran Mamdani, the privileged upper-class socialite-cum-socialist crusader, was sworn in as New York City's newest mayor. Two days later U.S. special forces captured Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela's ousted president, illicit drug and weapons peddler, and fellow socialist disciple.
The events paint a stark contrast of socialism as extolled by liberal elites, and what it truly means in practice.
During his inaugural address, Mamdani proclaimed: "We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism." It does not take a scholar to understand his intent: Replace the pillars of capitalism with the faulty pretenses of socialism. Progressives and conservatives alike should be alarmed.
Mamdani ran on a radical agenda that would make even the most devout liberals of only a few years ago blush. His policies read like something of a communist manifesto: income redistribution, government-run grocery stores, rent controls, universal programs, a $30 an hour minimum wage, public housing and transportation -- and higher taxes on individuals and businesses to pay for it all.
"Call it democracy or call it democratic socialism. There has to be a better distribution of wealth for all of God's children in this country," he said on the campaign trail. And his appeal landed with New Yorkers, for whom former mayor and self-professed "original progressive" Andrew Cuomo was apparently not progressive enough.
Be careful what you wish for.
Venezuelans have been living under the realities of socialism for over a decade -- hyperinflation and food shortages, political repression, human rights abuses, corruption and fixed elections. The list goes on and on, and it hardly reads like the "warm collectivism" articulated by Mr. Mamdani.
After seizing the power in the wake of former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's death, Maduro erected an authoritarian socialist government that produced a living nightmare for citizens. Some 8 million residents fled the country, often migrating to the U.S., as the country experienced economic collapse.
This was the upshot of Maduro's vision to build "an alternative to savage capitalism" -- a refrain eerily similar to Mamdani's.
To secure his illegitimate office, Maduro empowered narco-terrorists, who flooded the U.S. with illicit drugs and illegal weapons. The U.S. Department of Justice indicted Maduro and 14 other Venezuelan officials for narco-trafficking, money laundering, corruption and other crimes in 2020. This month, President Donald Trump employed the power of the U.S. military to finally bring Maduro to justice.
It's troubling that New Yorkers -- who every day enjoy the privileges of living in a country built on the principles of free markets -- would so eagerly embrace a system that has consistently produced such awful outcomes for the citizens it is forced on. But it is hardly an isolated phenomenon.
A Gallup poll last September found nearly 40% of Americans have a positive opinion of socialism. Another recent study found more than two-thirds of college students think of socialism in a favorable light, compared to only 40% who think of capitalism in the same way.
These shifting attitudes are not grounded in truth -- they are the results of the left's radical campaign to convince the public that capitalism has somehow failed them. It has not.
The United States remains the land of economic opportunity -- not just for some but all who are willing to work hard to build a better life for themselves. For evidence of America's success and fairness, you don't have to look any further than the migration pattern from socialist Venezuela and Cuba to the United States.
We as Americans enjoy the highest quality of living in the world. Individuals can decide for themselves what careers they want to pursue, who they elect, and how to invest their time and resources -- not some autocratic authority that cares more about maintaining its own power than the welfare of its people.
The left can paint a charming conception of socialism, but in reality, its goals are not much different than those of other failed leaders of the cause. They hope to build dependence on big government and thereby consolidate power for themselves. And they realize that free-market competition -- which is predicated on personal choice and freedom -- is a barrier to their end goal.
Liberal voters appear to have drunk the Kool-Aid. But ask most Venezuelans, and they will say that Mamdani's democratic socialist vision isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Ken Buck served in the United States House of Representatives from 2015-2024 representing Colorado's 4th congressional district. He now serves as a Fellow with the Independent Center.
