Socialism is in the news. Last week, three far-left candidates, backed by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, won their primary elections in New York City. Dr. Paul Kengor joined The Drew Mariani Show to discuss the recent phenomenon.
“I wasn’t surprised at all,” Kengor said of the results. “This is the new New York. They elected Mamdani last year.” Kengor is a professor of political science at Grove City College, and an expert on communism.
He told Drew that these elections were part of a broader strategy to get more socialist candidates elected. “They’re not actually Democrats. They’re Democratic socialists, and they are members of the DSA (Democratic Socialists of America).” Kengor locates the proximate trend of socialist-type candidates with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Congresswoman elected to New York’s 14th Congressional District in 2018.
To win elections, Kengor says, these socialist candidates run in heavily Democratic seats and defeat incumbent candidates. They then glide to a general election win because they don’t face formidable Republican challengers.
One of those candidates, Darializa Avila Chevalier, made headlines for her radical views, including her disrespect for the flag. Kengor said he’s not surprised by the anti-American views. “If you’re a democratic socialist, you should hate America because the beliefs that you have as a democratic socialist are completely antithetical to everything that America was founded on.”
Socialism from the “Right”
Traditionally leftist ideas are not only coming from the Democratic party, but from the right as well. The Trump Administration has taken equity stakes in several U.S. companies including Intel, U.S. Steel, Westinghouse, and several minerals companies. In May, the White House touted the Intel deal – a 9.9% stake in the company which is worth about $10 billion – as proof President Trump is “prioritizing American workers” and taking “decisive action.” Trump sees the move as a way to reduce American dependence on Taiwanese chips.
Last year, liberal senator Bernie Sanders said he supported the Intel deal, “If microchip companies make a profit from the generous grants they receive from the federal government, the taxpayers of America have a right to a reasonable return on that investment,” he told Reuters.
Naturally, free market oriented critics have spoken out. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) took to X to express his frustration. “If socialism is government owning the means of production, wouldn’t the government owning part of Intel be a step toward socialism?”
Scott Lincicome, a fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute, said that equity stakes can distort markets by diverting capital away from good investments towards those involving the government. Earlier this year, Linciome wrote, “Research shows that policy-driven capital misallocation can lead to lower productivity, weaker growth, and a smaller economy over the long term, even if state-backed champions don’t fail outright.”