Atlas Will Shrug Again

The only constant is change, and change moves in cycles. From Capital to Labor, Conservative to Liberal, political Left to Right, economic boom to bust, we’re perpetually caught in the rhythm of these swings.

The American Civil War was fought over freedom versus slavery. Today, America is simmering over immigration, abortion, gender, and social and economic justice. 

The liberal and hippie revolutions of the '60s and '70s ushered in conservative figures like Ronald Reagan as President and Rudy Giuliani as Mayor of New York. Now, the pendulum has swung so far left that New Yorkers are considering electing Zohran Mamdani, a Muslim immigrant and self-described Democratic Socialist.

An antisemite who spouts “globalize the intifada” and threatens to arrest Bibi Netanyahu if he sets foot in New York, Mamdani, backed by his allies like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, promises free transportation, subsidized housing, and government-run groceries, echoing failed experiments in Cuba and the Soviet Union. Zohran is more than a redistributive socialist; he edges closer to an avowed Communist with his vow to control the means of production. Promising “dignity over growth,” he plans to fund his utopia by “taxing the 1%—the billionaires and profitable companies.”

Just as basic physics teaches that every action triggers an equal and opposite reaction, we see that as Donald Trump and JD Vance strive to push us far to the right, Mamdani and his allies try to pull us far to the left.

Though the pendulum swings wildly, it eventually returns to the center. We are fortunate to live in a nation resilient enough to endure these storms and emerge wiser from each cycle.

— Sina.