Socialism: On The March, Or Not So Much?
/The famous quote from Winston Churchill about Socialism is as apt today as when first uttered in 1948: "Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy." Forty-three years later in 1991, Churchill stood fully vindicated, as the Soviet Union fell, following decades of not just stagnation and decline, but immense human suffering and death. At the time I thought, no one could ever possibly again take this ideology seriously.
Well, here we are in the United States of 2026, and you could easily get the impression that Socialism is on the march. Politicians proudly claiming the Socialist (or even Communist) brand hold the mayoralties of all the largest cities, and their movement is the source of all the energy in today’s Democratic Party.
New York’s primary elections are set for June 23, with “early voting” already well underway. Two days ago (June 18), proud Socialists Zohran Mamdani and Bernie Sanders came together for a rally in Brooklyn to promote a collection of their ideological comrades seeking to knock out “moderate” Democrats in three races for Congress in New York City. The Socialist candidates are Brad Lander in NY-10 (Lower Manhattan/Brooklyn — my district!), Claire Valdez in NY-7 (Brooklyn/Queens), and Darializa Chevalier in NY-13 (Northern Manhattan/Bronx). Valdez and Chevalier are endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America. Lander was also a member of the DSA for 30 years going back to college, but quit the group in October 2023 after it held a rally in support of the Hamas massacres of October 7 that year. But don’t worry, Lander is fully aligned with the DSA on economic issues, and also regularly accuses Israel of “genocide” for its actions in Gaza. Although these primaries are by no means certainties, all of Lander, Valdez and Chevalier have led in at least some polls.
Meanwhile in Los Angeles, far-left Mayor Karen Bass faces a serious challenge from even-farther-left DSA member Nithya Raman; in DC, the winner of the Democratic mayoral primary (and thus presumptive next Mayor) Janeese Lewis George, is a member of the DSA; and the new Mayor of Seattle, Katie Wilson, proclaims herself a “democratic socialist” (although apparently not actually a member of the DSA).
You could certainly be forgiven for getting the impression that the radical explicitly Socialist left is quickly becoming ascendant. Is there any hope of stopping its rise?
For some perspective, I suggest looking at recent developments in Latin America. In Latin America, a dramatic transformation of electoral politics has been occurring over the past several years. If you haven’t been following it closely, you may be amazed at how far the transformation has progressed. I’ll take it country by country:
Argentina. Javier Milei was elected in November 2023 to a four-year term as President. He has substantially cut the size of government and re-invigorated the economy.
Bolivia. In Bolivia, a Socialist party, MAS (“Movement Toward Socialism”) and charismatic leader Evo Morales took power in 2006. Morales was re-elected twice, and then, facing term limits, got a subservient Supreme Court to give him permission to run again in 2019. He claimed to win in an extremely dubious election. (See details here in a Manhattan Contrarian post.). Meanwhile, Morales and his redistributionist policies gradually ran the economy into the ground. By the 2025 election, the Bolivians had had enough. In the October that year, the MAS party was voted out by a huge margin. Its presidential candidate got about 4% of the vote, and it lost all but two seats in the legislature. New President Paz took office in November 2025.
Chile. Left-wing President Gabriel Boric (he called himself a “libertarian socialist”) got voted out in December 2025 in favor of José Fast.
Honduras. New President Nasry Asfura was elected in November 2025, and sworn in in January 2026. He promises to cut the size of government and incentivize the private sector.
Peru. A run-off in the recent presidential election was held June 7, and the final results have still not been reported. However, according to this Wall Street Journal report from June 11, it looks like the centrist candidate, Keiko Fujimori, is likely to win an extremely narrow victory against left-wing opponent Roberto Sanchez.
Colombia. The second round of the presidential election is tomorrow, June 21, between the right-wing Espriella and left-wing Cepeda. Current left-wing President Petro is barred from running for re-election. In the polling, Espriella leads by about 4-8% — not a huge amount, but generally beyond the margin of error.
It’s almost as if the Latin Americans have finally looked at the ruin that the left and Socialism have wreaked on places like Argentina, Bolivia, Venezuela, and Cuba, and decided that it is time to try something different.
Here in the U.S., suppose that all of Lander, Valdez, and Chevalier win their primaries. Is this the path to victory for Democrats in November and thereafter? If those candidates win, they will then join the likes of Zohran Mamdani, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Graham Platner, Brandon Johnson, Katie Wilson, Nithya Raman, and plenty of other such as the face of today’s Democratic Party. I don’t know when this will become electorally toxic, but the recent results in Latin America show that eventually the electorate will recognize snake oil for what it is.