Many 14-year-olds think everyone before them was stupid as the solutions to sooooo many problems are quite evident. Unless of course you are stupid.

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Thomas Dolby has a classic song titled “Airhead” whose lyrics capture this so-called thinking:

… She thinks the fighting in Central America's easily solved

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But what to wear to Bel Air premieres is a problem she could never resolve…

Although 34 years old, the new mayor of New York City -- Zohran Mamdani -- still thinks this way. So does AOC and almost all serious leftists. In fact, if you don’t think this way it is probably impossible to believe in most ideas of the Left.

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Famous economist Friedrich Hayek noted it as “If socialists understood economics, they wouldn't be socialists.”

And proving age doesn’t limit this childish thinking, so does multi-millionaire, life-long government “public servant,” 84-year-old Senator Bernie Sanders, who has never held a real job in his entire life. But it is questionable whether three-home Bernie is really a socialist or just a high-performing grifter, but that’s for another day. Although this also seems to be a common feature of the leaders of the Left. 

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Mamdani has also never held a real job in his life. And few of us have parents who can set up a trust fund for us to run for mayor of NYC, but don’t you understand? That’s what gives him so much wisdom. He knows what it is like for the common man. How does he know these things? He just does. Quit being stupid!

Many of these 14-year-old’s ideas are given birth and maintained in institutions of “education.”  But as another famous economist, Thomas Sowell noted:

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The most fundamental fact about the ideas of the political left is that they do not work. Therefore we should not be surprised to find the left concentrated in institutions where ideas do not have to work in order to survive.

And like most 14-year-olds, a lack of knowledge in no way impacts their certainty. In fact, they often have a negative correlation -- the greater the lack of knowledge, the more certain they are. 

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Mamdani was basted in these ideas his entire pampered life. That’s why when you hear Mamdani or AOC speak, it reeks of this teenage “wisdom.” 

Housing availability and cost? Just force those lousy landlords to reduce rent. Easy peasy. Lowering grocery costs? My gosh, just sell the product for a lower cost! You can do the same for electricity, fuel, and almost everything else. What are you, stupid? 

Stopping crime? Quit forcing people to be criminals and get those damn cops off the streets. Then watch everything go back to the Garden of Eden it was before those black-booted thugs arrived. 

Helping people make more money? Just force other people to pay their employees more! Ending pollution? Just force people to stop polluting. It almost hurts my brain to note the simplicity of these things.

Want more affordable housing? Just build more housing that is affordable! Was everyone asleep before I came along?!

Hell, in a good afternoon of work Zohran and his ilk can solve all the problems in NYC with time left over for drinks at the club. You just have to stop being stupid! As the people of NYC are about to discover, a far bigger problem is what to order for drinks. 

John Conlin is an expert in organizational design and change. He also holds a BS in Earth Sciences and an MBA and is the founder and President of E.I.C. Enterprises. He has been published in American Greatness, The Federalist, The Daily Caller, American Thinker, Houston Chronicle, Denver Post, and Public Square Magazine among others.

Image: ChatGPT