Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary isn’t just a local upset. It’s a warning. He’s not winning despite reckless ideas; he’s winning because of them. His platform blends utopian slogans with policies that crumble under scrutiny. Many voters, especially younger progressives, prefer ideological theater to real results. Emotional appeal has replaced intellectual rigor, and that’s a dangerous shift.

I see this shift daily in my Manhattan psychotherapy practice. After witnessing a disturbing sidewalk incident, one patient said, “This is why we need Mamdani. He’ll send social workers, not police.”

Their response wasn’t about safety or improvement. It was a rejection of law enforcement and establishment, not reform.

Politics isn’t therapy. Feelings don’t fix subways, reduce crime or build housing. When emotional posturing replaces real solutions, the most vulnerable pay the price.

Mamdani’s platform isn’t bold — it’s reckless. His policies sound like slogans, with little serious thought behind how they’d work in most cases. “Defund the police” might resonate with some progressives online, but in a city where people fear riding the subway or walking outside at night, it is out of touch and dangerous.

Freezing rents and hiking taxes on the wealthy may seem fair, but these moves would choke housing supply, drive out investment and make the city less affordable. These aren’t visionary ideas; they are shortcuts that ignore basic economics.

Many of Mamdani’s most ardent supporters are young, college-educated and living........

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