Hoover Institution Senior Fellow Victor Davis Hanson appeared on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” on Tuesday to caution that the Democratic Party’s increasing support for figures like Zohran Mamdani, the newly elected mayor of New York City, signals a concerning ideological shift toward socialism.
Hanson argued that the modern Democratic Party, influenced by progressives such as Mamdani and Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is pushing policies fundamentally opposed to human nature and individual freedom. Mamdani, a self-avowed socialist, built his successful mayoral campaign on a platform of wealth redistribution, expansive government programs, and class-based politics, including a $30 minimum wage, city-operated grocery stores, and higher taxes on “richer and whiter” neighborhoods.
“Historically, socialists always come in after capitalists have made prosperity, and then they offer and improve prosperity,” Hanson told host Laura Ingraham. He asserted that this philosophy is “contrary to human nature,” stressing that people inherently value “initiative,” “pride in their property,” and the ability to work hard and be compensated.
The Senior Fellow warned that when the state begins to control innovation and productivity, it inevitably leads to the crushing of dissent and freedom.
Hanson explained that a free society benefits from “millions of agendas and ideas that improve” because people are free to innovate, take experiments, and assume risks. However, when the state monopolizes these elements, it becomes inherently “repressive.”
“All of these social experiments, even if they’re democratic, they end up repressive. At the worst form, it’s no accident that the greatest mass murderers in history were Mao [Zedong] and [Joseph] Stalin, 30 million, 60 million, and they were radical communists, and even people like Hitler, National Socialist Party.”
Hanson further criticized socialist systems for creating a privileged elite that remains exempt from the consequences of its own policies. He contended that such systems often lead to the demonization and flight of talented people, an influx of people seeking “things for nothing,” and a destruction of personal liberty as dissent is “stamped out.”
He cited examples like the Castro brothers and Chavez and Maduro to illustrate how leaders of socialist systems are “never subject to their consequences, their ideology,” suggesting a similar trend is emerging domestically. “Here in California, we are becoming socialist,” he added.
Despite his staunchly socialist platform, Mamdani’s campaign successfully garnered significant support from prominent Democratic figures. After clinching the Democratic mayoral nomination in June, Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul voiced her support in a September New York Times op-ed. By October, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries publicly endorsed Mamdani, having previously sidestepped questions regarding his candidacy.
Mamdani was elected mayor on Tuesday and is expected to push for his sweeping economic reforms.
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