Psychology May Explain Socialim's Allure for Youth, Big Cities
During his first term, President Donald Trump promised, "America will never be a socialist country." Maybe not. But New York is now a socialist city.
The Big Apple was once the heart of American capitalism.
Zohran Mamdan's rise to power is thanks to the votes of young people in their 20s.
Do they have one iota of a clue what they're asking for?
Imagine if all of America became socialist tomorrow, as these young voters undoubtedly want. Some of us ask, "How long would the typical American today last during a prolonged power or internet outage?"
Millions of people would have to put down their phones and find something else to do.
Far worse, however, is the brand of poverty that socialism brings.
—Grocery store shelves wouldn't have the things you expect.
—Hospitals would be disaster areas, far worse than the frustrations people experience now.
—Roads would be in ruins.
Why?
Because when there's no money, nothing happens.
When there's nobody to innovate, create, and sustain the wealth we all take for granted — everything fails.
The Mamdani election shows just how divided America is.
Yes, Manhattan is deeply blue.
But not terribly long ago Giuliani was Gotham's mayor.
Now, Democrats like Andrew Cuomo seem like Ronald Reagan compared to what's coming. But America is hopelessly divided. Not by race so much as by where you live — urban versus rural.
In Thomas Jefferson's letters, one of his biggest concerns for the survival of our republic involved the development of cities over rural life.
Jefferson felt that cities would foster a support for tyranny while the rural life fostered the self-accountability and self-reliance a free country requires.
Clearly, one of our nation's Founders was on to something.
The catastrophic election of not just a Communist but an open terrorist to such a high position reinforces my view that the ruptures in America cannot be repaired.
At a minimum, even without a civil war, our states will have to split up.
You can't reconcile Mamdani and the Bill of Rights.
And lovers of liberty and civilization can't and will never coexist with the ignorant fools who voted for him, as well as the evil totalitarians who funded him.
And now, are we witness to a chilling emergent trend?
One emanating from the Pacific Northwest?
Now comes news that Katie Wilson, a 43-year socialist, living off her parents money, has been elected mayor of Seattle, Washington.
At this stage, we need to be crystal clear, there's no miracle behind capitalism.
It's all very real, logical, and tangible.
In fact, it's beauty is in its simplicity.
When human beings are accountable for their actions, and are permitted to keep all (or even most) of what they earn, they perform far, far better than when only permitted to work for the government.
Only in the United States do we call it "progressive" to move toward an economic and social system where — using a very real example — nail polish is in such short supply that young girls are not permitted to use it, lest they hurt the feelings of other little girls.
It's not merely that everyone is poor under socialism.
It's that no wealth can be created.
Because people will not create things like Amazon, American Airlines, Uber, Nike, eBay, Apple, your favorite clothing lines, your favorite cars, your favorite sports and entertainment, and all the rest when they’re not allowed to make a profit.
Would you?
The level of ignorance among the left-wing and left-wing-by-default, i.e., millions of young people who will vote for totalitarian blockheads like Mamdani, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., s staggering.
If they hated all material wealth, it would be one thing. It would make sense for them to embrace socialism.
But the socialism we find in America comes from two places.
Both are psychological. One is envy, and the other is neurotic guilt.
In America, there are two types of people who embrace socialism.
First are the types who don’t have a lot, and who feel they never will have a lot, or who perhaps (deep down) don’t want to do the work required to gain a lot.
They're envious, they're bitter, and they want others to suffer their fate.
The others are the already wealthy who, regardless of how they attained their wealth, feel it’s not fair they have more than others.
Rather than giving their money away, they demand a social system that prevents others from ever having what they have, or even from ever having anything at all.
It's a neurotic form of psychological atonement.
"I’m bad for having all this. If I support redistribution of wealth, that makes me feel better."
We're not ridding ourselves of socialism until we challenge the unearned guilt and envy of millions of citizens who suffer from these problems.
The problem is psychological and ultimately ideological, since human emotions are based upon ideas. We are stuck at the ballot box until we first get to the subconscious. I see no other way out of this mess.
It would be stunningly sad if America, the most moral and successful society in all of human history, went down in a frenzy of psychological neurosis and disorder which never had to be. America was not preordained.
It happened because people wanted it.
Yes, it can rise again — but only if people want it.
And therein lies the problem.
(Related opinion columns may be found here, and here.)
Michael J. Hurd, Ph.D. is a psychotherapist with a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Psychology. He's the author of "Grow Up America" and "Bad Therapy, Good Therapy," (see: www.DrHurd.com). Dr. Hurd has been quoted in and/or appeared on over 30 radio shows/podcasts (including Rush Limbaugh and Larry Elder), and on Newsmax TV. He also authors two self-help columns weekly. Dr. Hurd resides in Charleston, South Carolina. Read More Dr. Hurd's Reports — More Here.