New Mayor of New York Quotes Socialist Icon in Victory Speech

Democratic Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani referenced Eugene Debs, the founder of the Socialist Party of America, during his victory speech on Tuesday.

Mamdani mentioned Debs’s views on capitalism, specifically how it exploits workers and creates a form of “wage slavery,” tying their dependence on capitalists for their income. Defining himself as a democratic socialist, Mamdani won against former Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, securing 50.4% of the vote.

He echoed Debs’ sentiment: “The sun may have set on our city this evening, but as Eugene Debs once said: We see the dawn of a better day for humanity.” It’s a hopeful, albeit ambitious, statement.

Debs, who ran for president several times without success, believed that capitalism was a root cause of poverty and crime. He argued that these issues could only be effectively tackled through socialism, claiming that capitalism undermines political democracy by creating an economic elite.

Indeed, Debs contended that the government should take over the means of production, redistributing wealth based on need to alleviate poverty and foster a more democratic society.

In 1918, he was sentenced to ten years in prison due to an anti-war speech, which was cited as a violation of the Espionage and Sedition Act. Remarkably, in 1920, he decided to run for president from his prison cell as a member of the Socialist Party.

Mamdani also expressed his views at the 2021 Young Democratic Socialists of America Conference, emphasizing that socialism aims to control the means of production. He has gained support from Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, both of whom align with democratic socialist principles.