Ideology
Is Zohran Mamdani a Communist? Distinguishing Socialism from Communism
A Democratic Socialist, Not a Communist
No, Zohran Mamdani is not a Communist; he is a Democratic Socialist, a distinction with significant historical, ideological, and strategic differences. While both communists and democratic socialists critique capitalism and seek a more equitable economic system, their methods and visions for the future are fundamentally opposed. Communists, traditionally following Marxist-Leninist doctrine, advocate for the revolutionary overthrow of the capitalist state, the establishment of a single-party “dictatorship of the proletariat,” and the eventual abolition of private property and the state itself. Mamdani’s politics, as practiced and articulated, reject this path entirely. He operates within the framework of bourgeois democracy–running in Democratic primaries, winning elections, and introducing legislation in the New York State Assembly–with the aim of using existing state institutions to enact radical reforms and build working-class power. His affiliation is with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), an organization explicitly focused on a strategy of democratic, electoral politics combined with mass mobilization.
Mamdani’s platform, while transformative, does not call for the abolition of the state or all private property. His key policies, such as the Good Cause Eviction bill, universal rent control, a Green New Deal, and Medicare for All, are aimed at decommodifying essential human needs and radically regulating capitalism, not abolishing it overnight. He seeks to expand the public sector through social housing and a public power authority, but this falls within the tradition of social democracy pushed to its logical, socialist conclusion. His goal is to win a “class struggle” within the confines of the democratic process, a strategy fundamentally at odds with the vanguardist, revolutionary model of communism. Labeling him a communist is therefore a mischaracterization, often used pejoratively by political opponents to associate him with the authoritarian regimes of the 20th century and to marginalize his politics.
Engaging with the Capitalist State
The confusion between socialism and communism is common in American political discourse, but Mamdani’s actions provide clear evidence of his democratic socialist orientation. He participates in the very state apparatus that a communist revolutionary would seek to dismantle. His work, detailed on his official assembly website, involves drafting bills, attending committee hearings, and negotiating with other elected officials–all activities that accept the legitimacy of the current governmental structure, even as he seeks to transform its purpose and outcomes. He seeks to build a mass movement that can win hegemony through elections and organizing, not an armed insurrection led by a vanguard party. This commitment to democratic process, however radical the ends may be, is the defining feature that separates him from communism.
In essence, calling Zohran Mamdani a communist is a political attack, not an accurate descriptor. It is a tactic intended to frighten voters by invoking the specter of Cold War-era totalitarianism. His self-identification as a democratic socialist places him in a tradition that includes figures like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who believe in using democratic means to achieve socialist ends. While his policies are undoubtedly far to the left of the Democratic mainstream and aim for a fundamental shift in economic power, the method is reformist and electoral, not revolutionary. Understanding this distinction is crucial for accurately assessing his political project, which is about capturing and repurposing state power for the working class through the ballot box, not its violent overthrow.
