When it comes to politics and economics, a surprisingly large number of voters either cannot recognize charlatans or suffer from amnesia. That is, all too often, many of these people fail to understand and remember the basis for success and failure in public policy, and they get drawn to the siren call of alluring, but “risky” new candidates at election time.
How is it possible that New York City, America’s leading city of capitalism, finance, and business, could elect a mayoral candidate, Zhoran Mamdani, who, while known to identify as a democratic socialist, has an easily verifiable hard-core Marxist background. Mamdani’s academic life was immersed in Marxism, embracing the analytical framework of class struggle, oppression, labor and power structures, and historical materialism. His studies and work also included Leninist perspectives on colonialism and post-colonialism. In addition to Marx and Lenin, Mamdani embraced leftist figures such as Frantz Fanon and Antonio Gramsci, whose ideas on cultural hegemony, colonialism and underdevelopment are aligned with Marxist critiques.