Pundits have spent the weeks since Zohran Mamdani’s populist victory in New York’s mayoral primary analyzing the political and policy implications. Less discussed are the signs of a deeper societal dynamic, one articulated with stark clarity by Mamdani’s fellow democratic socialist Bernie Sanders: “Take on the billionaire class. Take on the oligarchy. That’s how you win elections.”
This sentiment is not confined to the left, and the strategy doesn’t work only in New York. Populists on the right and in blue but smaller cities echo a similar formula, railing against a “cosmopolitan elite” and the “party of Davos,” who they argue have globalized the economy to their own benefit while leaving communities behind.
