Zohran Mamdani’s victory within the New York Metropolis Democratic mayoral major isn’t only a native upset. It’s a warning. He’s not profitable regardless of reckless concepts; he’s profitable due to them. His platform blends utopian slogans with insurance policies that crumble underneath scrutiny. Many citizens, particularly youthful progressives, favor ideological theater to actual outcomes. Emotional attraction has changed mental rigor, and that’s a harmful shift.
I see this shift every day in my Manhattan psychotherapy observe. After witnessing a disturbing sidewalk incident, one affected person mentioned, “That is why we want Mamdani. He’ll ship social employees, not police.”
Their response wasn’t about security or enchancment. It was a rejection of legislation enforcement and institution, not reform.
Politics isn’t remedy. Emotions don’t repair subways, cut back crime or construct housing. When emotional posturing replaces actual options, essentially the most susceptible pay the worth.
Mamdani’s platform isn’t daring — it’s reckless. His insurance policies sound like slogans, with little severe thought behind how they’d work normally. “Defund the police” may resonate with some progressives on-line, however in a metropolis the place individuals worry driving the subway or strolling exterior at evening, it’s out of contact and harmful.
Freezing rents and mountain climbing taxes on the rich could appear truthful, however these strikes would choke housing provide, drive out funding and make town much less inexpensive. These aren’t visionary concepts; they’re shortcuts that ignore fundamental economics.
Lots of Mamdani’s most ardent supporters are younger, college-educated and dwelling comfortably in Brooklyn’s progressive neighborhoods. Some are trust-fund children or latest beneficiaries of pupil mortgage forgiveness. They dwell properly however name for radical upheaval, sipping $7 lattes whereas demanding lease freezes and police abolition.
What stands out isn’t simply the rhetoric, it’s the resentment towards ambition and success. Mamdani’s declaration, “I don’t think we should have billionaires,” resonates in progressive circles however reveals a deeper unease with upward mobility. Whereas these rallying cries may provide emotional satisfaction or a way of justice, they’re typically rooted in jealousy of others’ achievements. In remedy, I’ve seen unchecked envy breed stagnation and even anger at a private degree.
New York’s housing disaster is plain. Nearly 60 percent of renters spend more than a third of their income on rent. However concentrating on landlords and builders gained’t repair the issue. It can make it worse. When funding dries up and building halts, provide shrinks and rents skyrocket. Fundamental legal guidelines of provide and demand don’t vanish as a result of a coverage sounds compassionate.
Taxing the wealthy could really feel like justice, however there’s a tipping level. Push too far, and jobs, funding, and tax income go away with them. You don’t repair inequality by driving out alternative.
Mamdani’s rise is fueled by actual frustration. Many younger voters really feel squeezed out of homeownership, burdened by debt, and determined for daring change. However too typically, that frustration slips into entitlement. A spring 2025 Harvard Youth Poll discovered that younger People overwhelmingly prioritize housing, well being care and inflation. However few provide clear solutions on how you can fund the expansive authorities position they envision.
This hole between demand and actuality fuels grievance politics throughout the spectrum, left and proper. However in a one-party metropolis like New York, it’s radical progressives who maintain the loudest megaphone, typically amplified by a psychological well being tradition that’s misplaced its approach.
A lot of right this moment’s therapy-speak validates grievance as an alternative of selling progress. We pathologize disagreement, encourage slicing off household over politics, and mistake victimhood for advantage. However actual therapeutic doesn’t come from blame, it comes from constructing resilience, company and accountability.
The identical applies in politics. Leaders who reward grievance and promise sweeping change with out delivering options don’t empower individuals, they pacify them. The angrier you appear, the extra credibility you achieve, even for those who provide no solutions. Slogans aren’t methods. Resentment isn’t management.
Contemplate “defund the police.” With crime rising in recent times, calling for fewer officers isn’t simply tone-deaf — it’s reckless. New York doesn’t want fewer cops. It wants better-trained, better-funded and extra accountable officers who construct belief whereas holding communities secure.
Housing suffers the identical shortsightedness. Blaming builders is a distraction that stifles provide. As an alternative, we should always streamline approvals, provide tax credit for inexpensive models and accomplice with the personal sector. Growing provide, not scapegoating, is the one actual answer.
Psychological well being deserves greater than symbolism. If Mamdani cares, he ought to again confirmed neighborhood fashions and disaster response groups. Even so, social employees can’t substitute police in each case, and pretending so places everybody in danger.
Mamdani’s victory isn’t nearly the place voters wish to go. It additionally displays deep desperation. If that desperation is met solely with emotional politics and empty guarantees, we’ll maintain electing leaders who stir emotions however ship little.
New York is a check case for the nation. It exhibits what occurs when political tradition prioritizes grievance over progress and symbolism over technique. If we would like safer, fairer, extra livable cities, we want leaders who deal with outcomes, not rhetoric.
If we maintain selecting emotional consolation over competence, we’ll maintain getting slogans as an alternative of options — and the individuals who want actual assistance will maintain being let down. It’s time to elect leaders grounded not in grievance, however in outcomes.
Jonathan Alpert is a psychotherapist and creator of the upcoming guide, “Remedy Nation.”