Through the campaigns of Zohran Mamdani and Mikie Sherrill, we can see a path that tenuously unites both social democrats and moderates. Future Democratic electoral successes will rest on a foundation of progressive economic populism.
socialism
Posted inTAP
Just Plain Everyday American Socialism
Socialist programs that come from non-socialists, like California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s low-cost insulin production program, don’t arouse the same level of right-wing hysteria. They also don’t arouse the same level of left-wing enthusiasm.
Posted inEconomic Policy
More State (or Is It Just Trump?) Capitalism
Last year, financier Scott Bessent excoriated the Biden administration for its revival of industrial policy. Now as Trump’s Treasury secretary, he the government would be expanding investments in companies in crucial economic sectors.
Posted inNewsletters
Mamdani: Son of La Guardia and FDR
Zohran Mamdani delivered a major speech to lay out the stakes in the upcoming mayoral election. To the historically sentient, the speech was replete with echoes of New York’s previous progressive heroes—Franklin D. Roosevelt, Fiorello La Guardia, and A. Philip Randolph.
Posted inPolitics
The Damaged Democratic Brand
More successful economic populists within the Democratic Party can help other Democrats revive their brand with an appeal that rouses voters.
Posted inNewsletters
The Rift in American Socialism
As Election Day draws near in New York City, entire genres of attack-pieces against Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani have emerged. Today’s New York Times, for instance, contains a long analysis of just how much some of Mamdani’s proposals will cost, though equivalent dollar estimates of how much they will boost the city’s economy are […]
Posted inEconomic Policy
The Socialist Case for Antitrust
The modern antitrust movement, sometimes called the neo-Brandeisians after the former Supreme Court justice Louis Brandeis, had a major influence on the Biden administration. Now that Donald Trump has returned to power, what’s next? Over at the new publication The Argument, Matt Bruenig has a critical review of what he calls the urtext of the modern antitrust […]
Posted inPolitics
How Mamdani’s Predecessors Built Democratic Socialism
A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin’s Freedom Budget is the key to understanding the appeal of the Democratic nominee for NYC mayor.
Posted inAmerica and the World
This Greenland Is Red
The small island nation has one of the largest and most successful portfolios of state-owned companies in the world. What?
Posted inTAP
What the Polls Are Screaming to ‘Mainstream’ Democrats
Today on TAP: The Democratic rank and file is much more aligned with Bernie, AOC, and Zohran than it is with Chuck and Hakeem.