The most fertile soil for collectivism is isolation.

During his inaugural address, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said, “We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.”

Many people have skewered the second part of that statement—and rightfully so. For those who’ve endured it, the warmth of collectivism feels like hell on earth.

In the last century, communist regimes slaughtered more than 150 million people. Hundreds of millions more have suffered through scarcity and oppression. Collectivist regimes struggle to keep the lights on and produce enough toilet paper. So much for warmth.

But the first part of Mamdani’s statement deserves scrutiny as well. Merriam-Webster defines rugged individualism as “emphasizing personal liberty and independence, self-reliance, resourcefulness, self-direction of the individual, and free competition in enterprise.” Even if they wouldn’t use the term, this encapsulates the general beliefs of most Republicans and conservatives.

Mamdani implied........

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