Now that Zohran
Mamdani is the mayor-elect of New York City,
expect the slings and arrows aimed at him to
intensify. He has been called everything but a
child of God, and he gleefully identifies as a democratic
socialist, a Muslim, a progressive social
justice advocate, and a leader
who recognizes the shoulders on which he
stands, shouting out some of the workers
responsible for his victory.
He is not a
communist, whatever that means in a
contemporary context. But it serves rabid
Republicans to portray him as such and to
aggressively paint him with the frightening
brush of an era long past, invoking
McCarthyism and other fears. Folks should not
buy into the nonsense.
Whenever
Republicans don’t get their way, they bandy
about the word communism and
accuse any Democrat - especially a progressive
one - of socialism or
communism.
It’s a lazy, fear-mongering habit that’s been
with us since the Cold War. The goal is
simple: discredit any attempt to make
government work for ordinary people. But the
difference between democratic
socialism,
socialism,
and communism matters
- especially when the right wing uses those
labels as weapons instead of ideas.
Democratic
Socialism: People Before Profit
Democratic
socialism starts with democracy. It argues
that political equality means little without
economic fairness. It doesn’t aim to abolish
capitalism, but to make it humane. Democratic
socialists believe everyone deserves
healthcare, education, and housing - not as
privileges, but as rights.
When
Bernie Sanders calls for Medicare for All or
tuition-free college, that’s democratic
socialism. So was Franklin Roosevelt’s Second
Bill of Rights,
which promised every American a decent job, a
good home, and medical care. Democratic
socialism keeps capitalism but demands that it
serve the people instead of corporations.
Republicans
deride these ideas as “socialism,” even as
they champion corporate bailouts and tax
breaks for billionaires. That’s socialism
for the rich, austerity for the rest of us.
Socialism:
Economic Democracy
Socialism, more
broadly, calls for collective control of major
industries - utilities, healthcare, and
transportation - so that public needs outweigh
private profits. It’s not about government
domination; it’s about giving power back to
workers and communities.
Many of the rights
Americans now take for granted - Social
Security, child labor laws, the 40-hour
workweek - came from socialist movements.
Their goal was fairness, not bureaucracy. And
while some socialist experiments faltered, the
principle endures: an economy should serve
people, not exploit them.
When today’s
progressives fight for a living wage or paid
family leave, they’re continuing that legacy
of economic democracy.
Communism:
The Dream and the Distortion
Communism, as Karl
Marx envisioned it, imagined a classless
society without private property or
exploitation - a noble dream that turned dark
in practice. In the Soviet Union, China, and
elsewhere, centralized power suffocated
freedom. But no serious American leader today
advocates communism.
Still, Republicans
invoke it like a curse word. They call climate
action “communist.” They call student loan
forgiveness “communist.” They know better, but
fear works better than facts.
Race
and Democratic Socialism
How do Black people
fare with democratic socialism? Democratic
socialists focus on closing the wealth gap and
looking at issues of race. Many class-based
solutions are not race-based solutions. Poor
Black people will fare better with democratic
socialism, but democratic socialists don’t
focus on race at all. While Mayor-elect
Mondami’s excellent acceptance speech checked
lots of boxes and address his constituency,
including African American New Yorkers, we
still don’t know what race remedies he plans
to implement.
The
Politics of the Smear
This pattern isn’t
new. When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. began
talking about economic justice, J. Edgar
Hoover’s FBI branded him a communist. When
Black leaders demanded jobs, land, and
reparations, they were painted as radicals.
The label “socialist” has long been code for
anyone - especially Black people - who
challenge America’s racial and economic order.
Even now, when we
talk about investing in housing, education, or
health, critics cry “socialism!” But they’re
not defending democracy; they’re defending
privilege. In truth, the wealthiest one
percent already practices their own version of
collectivism - controlling the economy
together for their benefit.
Reclaiming
the Conversation
Democratic
socialism is not a threat to democracy; its
democracy fulfilled. It means that freedom
should extend beyond the ballot box to the
workplace and the marketplace. Socialism, at
its moral core, insists that human life
matters more than profit. And communism, for
all its failures, began as a call to end
exploitation - a call we still need to hear.
So, when
Republicans cry “communism,” what they really
fear is equality. They fear an economy that
values workers as much as shareholders, and a
democracy that includes everyone - especially
those long left out.
If demanding
justice, equity, and dignity makes one a
“socialist,” then maybe socialism is simply
another name for democracy that keeps its
promises.
