Democratic Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral primary victory in New York City has prompted an elite panic, the likes of which we’ve rarely seen: Billionaires are desperately seeking a general-election candidate to stop him, former Barack Obama aides are publicly melting down, corporate moguls are threatening a capital strike, and CNBC has become a television forum for nervous breakdowns. Meanwhile, Democratic elites who’ve spent a decade punching left are suddenly trying to align themselves with and take credit for Mamdani’s brand (though not necessarily his agenda).
On the surface, this freak-out can seem as if it’s about policy. Mamdani’s proposals for free buses, universal free child care, faster small-business licensing, higher taxes on the rich, some publicly owned grocery stores, a higher minimum wage, and rent freezes are indeed shocking to oligarchs conditioned to getting everything they want. When you’re so accustomed to privilege, the most minimally humane policies for others can seem like oppression — and Mamdani’s agenda probably feels that way to New York’s billionaires, CEOs, and neoliberals.
