In an election cycle where the Democrats won multiple mayoralties and governor positions across the U.S., Zohran Mamdani’s victory in New York stood out. Mr. Mamdani’s triumph was singular because of his unabashed “democratic socialism” platform, which defeated well-funded Democratic establishment candidate Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent. His win reflects the growing electoral viability of a political tradition hitherto marginalised in U.S. politics: socialism.
On the surface, Mr. Mamdani’s key promises — rent freezes, public groceries, universal childcare, fare-free buses, and affordable housing — would seem to be standard welfare-state policies familiar in European political economies or Global South democracies. But Mr. Mamdani has pledged to fundamentally restructure the relationship between New York’s city government and its 8.5 million residents, reflecting an ideological clarity rooted in democratic socialist principles, much different from the largely pragmatic Democratic Party mainstream.
What exactly is ‘democratic socialism’? How does it differ from European social democracy— particularly the Nordic model?
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