There has been a noticeable shock emanating from the capital of free enterprise, the epicenter of international capital markets in America’s largest city, New York… A Democrat candidate for mayor who openly states he is a socialist is leading all candidates in the polls. Historically, Democrat candidates see fit to masquerade the advance of socialism, while claiming adherence to the country’s original principles, like our free enterprise marketplace.

It is a fact that Adam Smith’s publication of the Wealth of Nations coincided with Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence in 1776. Free Enterprise and its cornerstone of private property is a fundamental principle of our founding. Yet socialists in America, for a century, have masqueraded that they are still loyal to our founding principles, while maneuvering socialism into our original systems of economic and political governance.

Woodrow Wilson laid the seeds of socialism during his presidency by instituting the progressive income tax and founding the constitutionally unenumerated power of our Administrative State. Wilson believed as avidly in utopian socialism as a Russian Bolshevik, but he attested that Russia had it wrong. They choose to found socialism through revolution; he believed America would attain the same end, but through incremental evolution. Wilson masqueraded this concept for advancing socialism behind the title of a “New Democracy.”

Wilson’s hiding of socialist policy behind marketable titles proved a good idea. Norman Thomas helped draft the Socialist Party plank in 1927, then he and his party promptly lost the election of 1928, attaining only 1% of the national vote. Democrats have hidden socialism under their planks ever since.

When Zohran Mamdani openly claims in his platform that “he’ll fund challenges to utility companies, so that Con Ed can’t raise prices without a fight.” He should know he is a successor of FDR who hid behind the fallacy that “It was his administration which saved the system of private profit and free enterprise” by, among other things, founding the Tennessee Valley Authority and destroying the utility company Commonwealth and Southern through an industrial takeover worthy of Benito Mussolini.

What New York voters should know is that the TVA is still being subsidized by taxpayers and the bills consumers pay for their energy within the system is as high as anywhere else in the country. The “solutions” of Democrats have always involved higher taxes and higher prices.

Mamdani has vowed to crack down on New York landlords, by having the city “take control” of their properties, in order to make rents more affordable. Again, he is just a successor of Harry Truman’s National Housing Act of 1949, a part of the masquerade “Fair Deal” which allowed cities to confiscate urban areas to improve “urban blight.” The outcome of the policy was mass “eminent domain,” whereby a disproportionate number of African American citizens were dispossessed of their private property rights to their homes and businesses in favor of “projects” and government dependence. Every major city in America and the African American community generally, is still suffering the effects of this socialist policy, that the Housing and Urban Development spent $52 Billion to eradicate -- again -- in 2024.

New Yorkers should know that allowing African American areas in cities to mature under the blessings of unfettered free enterprise would not cost a dime, and their lives and their prosperity would become their own.

Mamdani proclaims he will improve education by implementing free childcare with high quality programming for all families, to help them out of poverty. Further, Mamdani has called to abolish private health insurance and medical bills.

LBJ was way ahead of Zohran, but he masked his policies behind the name “The Great Society.” You see, he was warned by Tom Hayden that the Democrat Party would be out of power if it were explicitly socialist, but would be further ‘in’ power if they called socialism, liberalism: they did. Another advisor, socialist Michael Harrington, said, “Of course, there is no real solution to the problem of poverty until we abolish the capitalist system.”

Since the implementation of “The Great Society” $23 trillion has been spent to end poverty. Yet, the percentage of poor people in America today is identical to 1970. The average cost of education in the U.S. is among the highest in the world at $17,277 per pupil, while our educational performance is among the lowest in the developed world. Finally, since 1970, when government first invaded the health sector of the economy, the average citizen’s healthcare costs per capita have risen from $353 to $14,570.

By 1977, fifty years after the Socialist Party Platform was publicized, the entire platform had been implemented in the United States by the Democrat Party, while always calling it something else; and we are still suffering the horrific effects. New Yorkers and Americans should know that Mamdani’s cure for healthcare will kill it; his cure for poor education will increase it; his cure for poverty will expand it.

Mamdani’s modern solution is… more socialism. Zohran plans to raise property taxes and taxes on individuals and businesses. He also plans to hire a new cadre of auditors to plunder, police, and persecute his own constituents, while the city’s tax base collapses.

It is time this national masquerade ended, with the advance of this clown, who openly states he plans to make a mockery of our free enterprise system, that has been a part of our founding, since New York was called New Amsterdam.

Richard C. Lyons, author of The DNA of Democracy Series: The DNA of Democracy:Volume I, Shadows of the Acropolis: Volume II and Passages Through The Shadows: Volume III, a third-generation printer whose early career centered on religious and special education publishing; Lyons has since engaged in literary pursuits as a poet, essayist, screenwriter, and indie publisher.

Image: Bingjiefu He