On November 4, 2025 (5th for us in the Pacific), the United States of America, specifically New Yorkers, elected Zohran Mamdani as their Mayor. Media reports either intentionally or unconsciously over emphasise Mamdani’s “externalness” (‘othering’) as a 34 year old “Ugandan born, Muslim”. The undertones of Edward Said’s work around orientalism, politics and connections in global media studies, is probably sparking scholarly debates in pocket groups around the globe. To peel through the typical and at times troubling layers of “othering”, it’s important to see beyond these divisive socio-political Americanised markers. To do this, it is important to discuss the ideological predisposition of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, which is often lost or barely mentioned. This is democratic socialism. What is it and why should it matter for us in Fiji?
What is it?
DEMOCRATIC socialism is a political and economic ideology that is underpinned by the ideals of democracy, in pursuit of the goals of social welfare and economic equality.
It seeks these social objectives through more democratic means, like elections, policy reform rather than disruptive revolution or authoritarian means. Wealth and resources are sought to be equitably redistributed, securing essential services like health care, housing and education being accessible to all.
The ideology finds it appeal in seeking to control or minimise economic inequality and implications like poverty, lacking access to essential services, while sustaining democratic governance. In this regard, democracy extends beyond politics, into the economic decisions or economic motivations of the whole system. This would mean a re-energised workers’ rights consciousness around great worker participation in corporate governance, regulation of industries and importantly fair labour practices.
As such, at least ideally, the ideology prefers a mixed economy that does not solely depend on private enterprise, but combines public and private ownership. This seeks to create wise counsel around growth and innovation with social responsibility, which should remind and anchor the economic-political structure, on human dignity and welfare. This way, the market freedom and its forces (even these forces authenticity has come under question in recent times of financial crises) do not dictate the obsessions we currently see with profits at all costs, against the people and our shared human dignity. These profit motives at all cost obsessions, have seen its anthropogenic consequences on the environment, as we know all too well in Fiji and the Pacific, one of which being the varying impacts of climate change.
Evidently, authentic environmental sustainability that re-orients and mediates the economic incentive of profit at all costs, more so towards the welfare of people, drives a significant appeal for Democratic socialism. In positioning the people’s welfare as the primary objective of the economy, the guidance of the democratic principles embeds the importance of the individual as well as serving the collective good.
This aspect reminds one of Professor Upolu Va’ai’s work on decolonising the mindset, “…to understand the individual as part of the community and the community as imaged in the individual”. More specific to democratic socialism, the notions of the individual and collective have a reciprocal and mutually reinforcing relationship. As such human rights, workers’ rights and environmental sustainability secures the individual and in turn the collective.
Does it matter?
Mayor Zohran Mamdani isn’t the first to symbolise or at least by rhetoric for now, democratic socialism in American politics. There is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez winning a seat in the US House of Representatives in 2019 and of course long serving Senator Bernie Sanders. These American figures, as well as the Labour party in the UK with similarities in the Nordic countries, apart from other parts of the world, demonstrate that these ideals are not new. For New York and more broadly in the US, its emergence should be unsurprising given the wealth and income disparity that is rampant.
This is part of the reason why Mayor Zohran’s bid to institute a rent rate freeze, free child care, no cost buses, progressive taxation has caught the attention and support of the New York voters. These promises at the very least by rhetoric, resonates with the 99 per cent (the often overworked, invisible-silenced majority), a term that emerged during the 2008 global financial crisis. The 1 per cent (underworked, loud and very visible minority) wealth owners, the hedge fund managers, “tech-bros”, the millionaires and billionaires, have since become symbolic of President Trump and the excesses of capitalism itself. While President Trump has ridiculed Mayor Mamdani as a communist and threatens to cut federal funding to the President’s own city of origin, the ideological clash between capitalism and democratic socialism, cannot be denied.
More specifically, renowned scholars; Noam Chomsky and Marv Waterstone have refined the current state of American capitalism to being “gangster capitalism”. This characterises the excesses of capitalism being profit obsession and wealth accumulation, through an incestuous business political and economic structure. These unchecked excesses have threatened if not harmed American lives, their democracy and constitution. At the very least ideologically, this matters because the excesses of American capitalism and capitalism itself, is slowly but surely being challenged. Will Mayor Zohran fulfill his promises in a system that has been designed and reinforced around the fetishisation of profits – at the cost of the welfare of the people? Well I suppose the loaded question answers itself. I’d like to be proven wrong in years to come, but the recent patterns in US political economic trajectory tells us otherwise.
Why does this matter for us in Fiji?
Apart from the obvious need for Fijian self-awareness around Islamophobia, “othering” and related identity ideals, which we have yet to fully understand around Mayor Zohran’s election, democratic socialism provides an insightful potential for examining/questioning our localised realities. For instance, it allows us to ask or think deeply about our politics, our economic structures and what interests have these central spheres being structured towards.
Have they been structured towards the welfare of the people, underpinned by democratic guidance? For example, can we possibly have greater emphasis on social welfare and reduction of income inequality for Fijians, as the central focus of “leadership”? As opposed to MP salary increases, lavish ceremonies, ostentatious official travels and of course political scandals and instability that continue to erode public trust? Again, another loaded question, this time not for anyone else, but for our 1 per cent ruling elite. These may have all been permitted by democratic guidance, but it is seemingly more so in service of the 1 per cent, than the 99 per cent. Could we have our health service reform given more attention, more urgent action, more accessibility (free healthcare)? Can the education system reform become a political obsession for increased access (free education – primary, secondary, tertiary) and improvement that is leveraged on the best of what major countries have been able to offer their people? Can we have a clear affordable and accessible housing plan? Can we have an energised worker consciousness that can elevate discussions from mere minimum wage, to a living wage?
Evidently, some of these questions will require greater contextualisation given our post-colonial realties, however, the core tenets prevail. These are democratic socialism’s emphasis on the welfare of the people and environmental sustainability, being served through the political and economic re-structure and re-orientation. Undoubtedly, a reorientation away from profit obsessions and self-serving interests, towards the people demands for this to be a prerequisite. This will probably take more time, debate and hopefully constructive discourses to awaken some healthy ideological vision for Fiji. It is very enticing to think, that one day political party manifestos could consider articulating democratic socialism ideals, prioritising health care, quality and accessible education and clear coherent plans to reducing income inequality and sound affordable housing plans. It will need to move beyond mere rhetoric and have tangible outlines and timelines of its implementation.
To be fair, Fiji does have social welfare policies and other related ambitions that are context specific. However, what I refer to here is the systematic prioritisation of social policy and the people, as a guide for subsequent political and economic decisions and motivations. An embedded prioritising of the people’s welfare and well-being, that is guided by a people centered democracy.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s moment can be viewed as an ideologically symbolic challenge against unaccountable free market capitalism and its political and media caricatures. Whether the mayor fails or succeeds is immaterial to the appeal of democratic socialism in the face of growing inequality, lacking universal health care and equal opportunity. It is perhaps ironic, that its appeal will require Trump, to be more Trump then America has ever seen. In Fiji, one would hope that the pre-eminence of the people’s interests and their welfare will not only become rhetoric as elections come around, but become a systematised incentive.
To general audiences, I apologise for the esoteric nature of these thoughts, but hope that some can consider these for constructive debate and discussion. I would hope that in time, it can build some consistent discourse that may serve the best interests of general audiences, but most especially the most vulnerable in our society.
