At a conference last June, a fellow attendee turned to me and began talking about Zohran Mamdani’s recent primary win in the New York City mayoral race. An economics enthusiast, this individual was aghast that a socialist like Mamdani would likely win such a prominent American political office.
I, on the other hand, approached the news as a matter of fact. After all, when it comes to blue states and cities, what can one do? If they want to go toward socialism, they’ll head down that path regardless of whether I yell, scream, or plead with them to reconsider.
A year later, the blue trend toward socialism only seems to be increasing, a fact highlighted recently by Harry Enten on CNN. Among those identifying as Democrats, 66% have a favorable rating of socialism. Fifteen years ago, that number was only at 50%, a meteoric rise which astounds Enten.
This trend really shouldn’t surprise us. As Soviet dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn told Harvard graduates nearly 50 years ago, socialism is just one of the various rungs in the ladder which trends downward toward communism – a ladder whose top rung is liberalism. As Solzhenitsyn explained, “Liberalism was inevitably pushed aside by radicalism, radicalism had to surrender to socialism, and socialism could not stand up to communism.”
Given the chaotic events of recent years, it is safe to say that we’ve been in the radicalism stage of this progression. But judging from Mamdani’s rise, these poll numbers, and other indicators, it seems that we’re actively stepping down from the radical rung to the socialist one on the ladder of decline.
How did we get to this place?
Solzhenitsyn again provides the answer by suggesting that our embrace of humanism – uncoupled from its moorings in Christianity – has landed us in this predicament. The more we try to run from God, the more we head toward socialism and its eventual end, communism.
One does see the same stones in the foundations of an eroded humanism and of any type of socialism: boundless materialism; freedom from religion and religious responsibility (which under Communist regimes attains the stage of anti-religious dictatorship); concentration on social structures with an allegedly scientific approach. (This last is typical of both the Age of Enlightenment and of Marxism.) It is no accident that all of communism’s rhetorical vows revolve around Man (with a capital M) and his early happiness.
The good news, however, is that the trend down the ladder from liberalism to radicalism to socialism and finally communism can be stopped if we retrace our steps back up the ladder. This can be done by returning to the Christian roots which once moderated the materialism and scientific ideologies that now dominate society.
"[A]s in American democracy at the time of its birth, all individual human rights were granted on the ground that man is God’s creature,” Solzhenitsyn explained. “That is, freedom was given to the individual conditionally, in the assumption of his constant religious responsibility."
The American founders recognized this tendency when they admitted that our form of republican government can not long endure without a moral and religious people. Thus, as we approach our 250th birthday as a nation, the most important question we must ask ourselves is whether we are willing to reembrace the Christian roots which Solzhenitsyn said are so vital to freedom – not only in our personal lives, but also in our schools, communities, and various levels of government. If not, then we must ready ourselves for the continual onslaught of socialism … and the eventual communism that experts like Solzhenitsyn know are only a step behind.
Annie Holmquist is the culture and opinion editor for 1819 News. Her writing may be found at The Epoch Times, American Essence Magazine, and her Substack, Annie's Attic.
This culture article was made possible by The Fred & Rheta Skelton Center for Cultural Renewal, a project of 1819 News. To comment on this article, please email [email protected].
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News.
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