The meaning of Zohran Mamdani: Globalisation failed to lift all boats

At a deeper level, both Left and Right populism are linked to globalisation, the world’s greatest economic force between 1980-2010.

Zohran Mamdani speaks in New York | Photo: Reuters

A seismic eruption has hit New York politics, with national ramifications. And it may also have international implications.

In the Democratic primary for New York’s mayoral contest, Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old migrant of Indian origin, defeated the 67-year-old Andrew Cuomo, part of New York’s biggest political dynasty. Thus far, Mamdani’s political career has spanned only two victories for New York’s state assembly. In contrast, Cuomo’s career includes three election victories as Governor of New York State.

Backed by New York billionaires such as Bill Ackman, a Donald Trump supporter, Cuomo was also the candidate of the Democratic Party’s establishment. Mamdani’s funds came from small donors. Since New York City is heavily Democratic, Mamdani is now the clear frontrunner.  Only very unlikely circumstances can deprive him of the final trophy.

Though the election was local, New York is unparalleled in its influence and resources. It is the richest city in the United States. At nearly $116 billion, its adopted budget for Fiscal Year 2026 is not only the highest for any city, but also exceeds that of many US states. The annual budget of Massachusetts, where I live, is only half as large. New York is also the most cosmopolitan American city, with diasporas from all over the world.

So why did Mamdani win? And what are the implications?

Much has already been said about his charisma and “privileged upbringing”. Undoubtedly charismatic, his mother is the well-known filmmaker Mira Nair, who is originally from New Delhi. Her films include the critically acclaimed Monsoon Wedding (2001), Mississippi Masala (1991), and Salaam Bombay (1988). His father, Mahmood Mamdani, born in Mumbai and raised in Uganda, is a professor at Columbia University.  His path-breaking book, Citizen and Subject (1996), enlightened us all about the lasting effects of colonialism in Africa.

But having accomplished parents is no guarantee for electoral success. Thousands of voters need to be convinced. Mamdani also knows how to deftly use social media, going beyond X and YouTube to embrace TikTok and Instagram, thus reaching thousands of “digitally native” younger voters. The world of 18 to 25-year-olds is no longer governed by newspapers and television. Cuomo’s campaign, though much richer, was strangely devoid of a creative social media strategy.

Zohran Mamdani’s Left populism

Better communication alone is not enough to win an election. What substantive message did Mamdani carry?

His policy proposals include government-subsidised free buses, free childcare for struggling families, an increased minimum wage, and affordable housing. All of this will be funded by higher taxes on rich corporations and affluent individuals. Political economy scholars call this “Left populism”.

In political economy, Left populism has a long history. Its focus is always on fiscal handouts for, and policies to uplift, the low-income populations. Indira Gandhi’s “Garibi Hatao” (abolish poverty) in the 1970s was a classic example in India, as was Juan Peron’s claim in Argentina in the 1940s that his government should smell of the sweat of the masses and grime of the streets. Left populism also typically goes with a policy of ethnic inclusion. Just like the economically underprivileged, the ethnic or religious minorities are to be especially looked after.

Right populism

In the West, a different kind of populism – “Right populism” – has been dominating politics of late. Its focus is, and has historically been, on majoritarian consolidation on one hand and marginalisation of minorities and/or immigrants on the other. The claim is that a nation must give primacy to its soul, which is said to reside in the longstanding majority community. Minorities and migrants must accept such primacy as constitutive of national strength, which is weakened by the idea of ethnic or racial equality.

Right populism often has a clear-cut economic programme, defined by an emphasis on economically strengthening the majority community against its globally networked elites. Europe is viewed as the historic birthplace of Right populism, but the US has also experienced it, most recently in the form of Trumpism. Some scholars view Narendra Modi as a Right populist, too. But he is a populist with a difference. His economic welfare policies are bigger than what Right populism generally allows for. In effect, Modi combines Left populism with a majoritarian cultural policy.

Zohran Mamdani’s victory, then, raises the following question: Will Left populism now increasingly challenge Right populism in the US? In which direction would the Democratic Party, badly in need of electoral victories, go?

Links with globalisation

At a deeper level, both Left and Right populism are currently linked to globalisation, the world’s greatest economic force between 1980-2010. But it has run into trouble in the West. Globalisation was about the free movement of capital, labour, and goods across national boundaries, with the assumption that it would lead to economic betterment for all.

As it turned out, trade liberalisation, while making goods cheaper overall, led to job losses in the West. Free capital flows meant businesses could go wherever labour was cheaper, reducing the tax base of Western governments and causing job losses. And immigrants began to change the pre-existing ethnic/racial make-up of societies, generating majoritarian anxieties. The Right populist attack on globalisation is premised upon bringing the majority community back in, both economically and culturally.

Even though Right populism was meant to attack globally networked elites, a segment of such elites, reading the writing on the wall, began redefining their interests and developing an alliance with populist governments. Globalisation’s benefits could only be saved by cancelling a lot of globalisation. This phenomenon has come to be called “plutocratic populism”. Mamdani’s rise should be viewed as an attack on the idea that plutocratic populism is a good response to the inability of globalisation to lift all boats.

Zohran Mamdani has posed a serious challenge, but are his alternative proposals politically and economically viable? This question is now likely to dominate political debates in America.

Ashutosh Varshney is Sol Goldman Professor of International Studies and the Social Sciences and Professor of Political Science at Brown University. Views are personal.

(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)