Not long ago, Zohran Mamdani -- who openly repeats classic Marxian slogans -- won the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York City.

Many people were appalled that such a radical candidate could have gained such purchase with the electorate.

Well, let's take one group: professionals in their 30s.

They followed the rules. They got the expensive educations. The result: instead of the comfortable lifestyle they were promised, they can barely keep their heads above water in the city of their birth.

As my old friend John Carney put it:

"These voters are not clamoring for socialism out of youthful rebellion. They’re reacting to a broken bargain. They grew up being told that education was the path to a stable, meaningful life.

"Instead, they’ve entered a labor market that treats professional work as disposable, housing as a luxury good, and children as a financial impossibility. Many have good salaries by national standards—$80,000, even $120,000—but in New York City that can still mean roommates, debt, and no hope of buying a home. They’re too rich to be poor and too poor to feel secure."

That is where a lot of Zohran Mamdani's support is coming from: not from hardcore Marxists, but from disillusioned people who did as they were told, and the promised benefits never materialized.

It goes without saying that Mamdani's proposed solutions would be disastrous. But when one side is acknowledging the problem and the other is pointing and shouting "Communist!" I think we know which one is going to win.

You can't beat something with nothing.

My conclusion from this is that if following the rules leads you to such a state of despair that you'd vote for Mamdani, these are stupid rules.

You can absolutely prosper in 2025, but chances are it won't happen by following rules developed in 1957.

Time to break the rules, and I'll help you do it:

https://www.tomwoods.com/breaktherules

Tom Woods