You are smarter than Peter! This is in deed more about a liberal brain virus injected by professors than housing. Are academics even lower humans than the media? It seems to me that the media are dumb, obedient servants. Academics on the other hand are the evil strategists.
If you are correct that Gen Z's support for socialism is based purely upon resentment over people having things they don't, then there is no satisifying or reasoning with them. No matter what you give them, there will always be someone who has something they don't. Resentment is a spiritual and cultural dead end.
I think you are likely correct about Gen Z supporters of Mamdani. I do not however think that the Gen Z of NYC are indicative of the rest of the country. Few things in NYC ever are. If your assessment is correct, then Mamdani is destined to fail and be more hated by his supporters than the people he designates as scapegoats. Nothing he does is going to satisfy them and he will inevitably be seen as a failure and worse a traitor by these sorts of supporters.
A generation of young people have been taught that capitalism (the free market) is bad. And that socialism is good. And so here we are. Buckle up! It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
One of the best things you’ve written. What you’re talking about is not found merely among young people. I encounter it among those quite a bit older as well. On the one hand you have people who have clearly prospered under a capitalist economy who consistently vote for those who’d cripple it because they are
supporting “ good values”. And of course you also have those who simply resent others having more than them because it’s “ not fair “. Your Genealogy of Morals citation is right on point!
Theil doesn't give a shit one way other the other about anything but his own wealth and power. Why would anyone even listen to him that doesn't come under his umbrella of employment or monetary influence.
I'm thinking alot about this issue and plan to write a post about defining Manhattan elites. I find that writers (not you) throw around the word elite to mean anyone they don't like.
As for resentment by the young I think it's absolutely there because we live in a city and at a time when some Gen Z and Millennials are doing great. And those are the peers that cause the most resentment. But that resentment is embarrassing to admit so other labels are chosen as targets.
This was an excellent and well-written article, Liza! However, I don’t fully agree with it. Is resentment instilled by academia and social media radicalization part of why Zohran Mamdani won? Absolutely. But while your analysis is good, it is incomplete. To be sure, Millennials and Gen Z in part supported Mamdani because they’ve taught to instead of admiring and seeking to emulate the success of others, envy it and be angry about it. This is why Mamdani and his supporters hate the rich and the state of Israel. But it doesn’t fully explain why young people voted for him or why he won. I think respectfully, your analysis misses some key points as to why Mamdani won. He led off with the cost of living in NYC which is absolutely crippling for the folks there especially the most vulnerable among us including young people as well as blacks and Hispanics, the groups who came out the strongest for him.
Also, Mamdani provided simple solutions to complex problems. Something that it is natural in us as human beings to gravitate towards because we like for things to be simple. In NYC, everything is so darn expensive not to mention over-taxation, overregulation and strict zoning laws are causing residents and businesses to flee and hollering out the city while young people and racial minorities struggle to make ends meet. To be sure, while Mamdani has correctly diagnosed what ails NYC, he has prescribed the wrong remedy. The problem in the city isn’t capitalism, it’s the misuse of capitalism. But the economic situation in the city is nonetheless bad as it is in the whole country. Also, I would disagree, for young people socialism is a social AND economic issue.
Let’s look at our economy for a moment, it’s been out of wack since the subprime mortgage crisis of 2008. We go through constant boom-bust cycles. We never do anything to actually fix the economy. We simply backstop the Fed, continue to do over-deregulation and re-inflate the bubble and the whole thing starts all over again. Right now, we’re basically in a recession even if the government and the media won’t admit it. Young people coming out of college can’t find jobs and many degrees are completely worthless. They are chronically underemployed. The national debt and student debt continue to pile up. President Trump recently floated FIFTY-YEAR mortgages which would make anyone who wants to own a home debt slaves for life. Car loans have extended to ridiculous lengths of time too. In this country today we are losing the ability to meaningfully own anything.
Grocery and gas prices remain sky high and everything is so darn expensive. So I don’t think Peter Thiel is entirely wrong and I don’t think you are no disrespect intended, entirely right. I think you really underestimate the economic component of young people turning out for Mamdani. Yes, part of the attraction to socialism for the young is resentment but it’s also driven by very real economic anxieties both in NYC and in the nation more broadly that can’t be denied. Their answer is course the wrong one. It’s not to get rid of capitalism in favor of socialism, but to reform capitalism and get it back on track. But their serious economic disadvantages compared to their parents and grandparents are very much a reality. For example, the American Communist Party was at its height during the Great Depression because in times of economic desperation those who come along offering to fix all their problems and tear down the old system that failed them look very attractive. This is also why the Anarchist Movement was so popular especially among immigrants, during the Gilded Age when you had extreme wealth inequality much like we do today.
You are smarter than Peter! This is in deed more about a liberal brain virus injected by professors than housing. Are academics even lower humans than the media? It seems to me that the media are dumb, obedient servants. Academics on the other hand are the evil strategists.
This is a great description of how luxury beliefs arise, and what happens when they begin to dominate the election cycle.
If you are correct that Gen Z's support for socialism is based purely upon resentment over people having things they don't, then there is no satisifying or reasoning with them. No matter what you give them, there will always be someone who has something they don't. Resentment is a spiritual and cultural dead end.
I think you are likely correct about Gen Z supporters of Mamdani. I do not however think that the Gen Z of NYC are indicative of the rest of the country. Few things in NYC ever are. If your assessment is correct, then Mamdani is destined to fail and be more hated by his supporters than the people he designates as scapegoats. Nothing he does is going to satisfy them and he will inevitably be seen as a failure and worse a traitor by these sorts of supporters.
A generation of young people have been taught that capitalism (the free market) is bad. And that socialism is good. And so here we are. Buckle up! It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
One of the best things you’ve written. What you’re talking about is not found merely among young people. I encounter it among those quite a bit older as well. On the one hand you have people who have clearly prospered under a capitalist economy who consistently vote for those who’d cripple it because they are
supporting “ good values”. And of course you also have those who simply resent others having more than them because it’s “ not fair “. Your Genealogy of Morals citation is right on point!
Theil doesn't give a shit one way other the other about anything but his own wealth and power. Why would anyone even listen to him that doesn't come under his umbrella of employment or monetary influence.
Hi Liza,
I'm thinking alot about this issue and plan to write a post about defining Manhattan elites. I find that writers (not you) throw around the word elite to mean anyone they don't like.
As for resentment by the young I think it's absolutely there because we live in a city and at a time when some Gen Z and Millennials are doing great. And those are the peers that cause the most resentment. But that resentment is embarrassing to admit so other labels are chosen as targets.
Good read!
This was an excellent and well-written article, Liza! However, I don’t fully agree with it. Is resentment instilled by academia and social media radicalization part of why Zohran Mamdani won? Absolutely. But while your analysis is good, it is incomplete. To be sure, Millennials and Gen Z in part supported Mamdani because they’ve taught to instead of admiring and seeking to emulate the success of others, envy it and be angry about it. This is why Mamdani and his supporters hate the rich and the state of Israel. But it doesn’t fully explain why young people voted for him or why he won. I think respectfully, your analysis misses some key points as to why Mamdani won. He led off with the cost of living in NYC which is absolutely crippling for the folks there especially the most vulnerable among us including young people as well as blacks and Hispanics, the groups who came out the strongest for him.
Also, Mamdani provided simple solutions to complex problems. Something that it is natural in us as human beings to gravitate towards because we like for things to be simple. In NYC, everything is so darn expensive not to mention over-taxation, overregulation and strict zoning laws are causing residents and businesses to flee and hollering out the city while young people and racial minorities struggle to make ends meet. To be sure, while Mamdani has correctly diagnosed what ails NYC, he has prescribed the wrong remedy. The problem in the city isn’t capitalism, it’s the misuse of capitalism. But the economic situation in the city is nonetheless bad as it is in the whole country. Also, I would disagree, for young people socialism is a social AND economic issue.
Let’s look at our economy for a moment, it’s been out of wack since the subprime mortgage crisis of 2008. We go through constant boom-bust cycles. We never do anything to actually fix the economy. We simply backstop the Fed, continue to do over-deregulation and re-inflate the bubble and the whole thing starts all over again. Right now, we’re basically in a recession even if the government and the media won’t admit it. Young people coming out of college can’t find jobs and many degrees are completely worthless. They are chronically underemployed. The national debt and student debt continue to pile up. President Trump recently floated FIFTY-YEAR mortgages which would make anyone who wants to own a home debt slaves for life. Car loans have extended to ridiculous lengths of time too. In this country today we are losing the ability to meaningfully own anything.
Grocery and gas prices remain sky high and everything is so darn expensive. So I don’t think Peter Thiel is entirely wrong and I don’t think you are no disrespect intended, entirely right. I think you really underestimate the economic component of young people turning out for Mamdani. Yes, part of the attraction to socialism for the young is resentment but it’s also driven by very real economic anxieties both in NYC and in the nation more broadly that can’t be denied. Their answer is course the wrong one. It’s not to get rid of capitalism in favor of socialism, but to reform capitalism and get it back on track. But their serious economic disadvantages compared to their parents and grandparents are very much a reality. For example, the American Communist Party was at its height during the Great Depression because in times of economic desperation those who come along offering to fix all their problems and tear down the old system that failed them look very attractive. This is also why the Anarchist Movement was so popular especially among immigrants, during the Gilded Age when you had extreme wealth inequality much like we do today.
Linked at this Chicago Boyz discussion: Their Worlds Turned Upside Down
https://chicagoboyz.net/archives/75366.html