A resurfaced video of New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani advocating “seizing the means of production” has sent chills through a section of communist refugees. The TOI could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.Mamdani has, however, categorically dismissed the claims of him being a communist, and describes himself as a “democratic socialist”.“I call myself a democratic socialist, in many ways, inspired by the words of [Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.] from decades ago, who said, ‘Call it democracy or call it democratic socialism: There has to be a better distribution of wealth for all of God’s children in this country,’” he told the NBC.
What does the viral video clip say?
In the resurfaced clip from a 2021 Young Democratic Socialists of America conference, as per the New York Post, Mamdani says the goal of “this entire project” is not just to raise class awareness, but to achieve socialism and elect leaders who are “unapologetic” about it.He acknowledges that while some causes socialists strongly support — like boycotts, divestment, and sanctions against Israel, as well as the ultimate aim of seizing the means of production — may be unpopular right now, they are still worth advancing.“It is critical to the way that we organize, the way that we set up our, you know, set up our work and our priorities that we do not leave any one issue for the other; that we do not meet a moment and only look at what people are ready for, but that we are doing both of these things in tandem, because it is critical for us to both meet people where they’re at and to also organize for what is correct and for what is right, and to ensure that over time we can bring people to that issue,” he said.
What did the communist refugees say?
Calling it a “failed and dangerous government model”, former Brooklyn Councilman and communist refugee Ari Kagan wrote on X, “After Red October Socialist Revolution in 1917, Bolsheviks seized means of production, jailed or killed business owners, eliminated freedoms & took over private farms & food stores. I would never imagine NYC would consider this failed & dangerous government model.”“It’s very chilling to hear that. It’s dangerous and scary. A majority of New Yorkers have to reject this man,” he told the NYP.Calling it “straight out of Karl Marx’s Communist playbook”, Representative Nicole Malliotakis, whose mother fled the communist regime installed in Cuba by Fidel Castro, said, “Of all his left-wing rhetoric, this is the scariest thing Mamdani has said and it’s straight out of Karl Marx’s Communist playbook.”“My mother fled a country that `seized the means of production’ and now my relatives have no medicine, no property and rationed rice and beans in Cuba,” Nicole said.Meanwhile, Brooklyn Councilwoman Inna Vernikov, who was born in Soviet-controlled Ukraine, accused Mamdani of hiding his true political beliefs.“This is exactly why Zohran’s whole song-and-dance about `democratic socialism’ somehow being different from communism is pure deception,” The Post quoted her as saying. “Those of us who grew up under communism know this all too well. Our home countries were destroyed by ideas that came dressed in pleasant, persuasive packaging,” she said.
