Nithya Raman can’t, or won’t, explain socialism

Nithya Raman can’t explain why she’s a socialist, or even what a socialist is.

When CNN’s Elex Michaelson asked her what the difference was between a Democrat and a “democratic socialist,” her only answer was to claim that socialists care more about renters.

Really? And here we thought socialism was about ownership — the ownership of the means of production.

Raman’s dodge is typical. Socialists always want to hide what they truly believe, because the American people would reject it — or laugh at it.

Lately, socialists have been on a “hearts and minds” campaign to soften their image. 

Zohran Mamdani isn’t an angry rabble-rouser getting arrested for protesting against Israel. No — he’s the guy who always smiles, who jumps into the swimming pool wearing a suit.

Seizing people’s wealth isn’t what socialists want to do — if you ignore that billionaire tax. No, no — socialism is just public roads, and public schools and public parks — anything public.

And Nithya Raman isn’t a socialist who appeared with Hamas-supporting radical Hasan Piker — no, she just wants to make sure that the streetlights stay on and the homeless are housed.

Socialists have also been on a campaign to claim that everything they do is successful — that after just six months in office, Mamdani has turned New York around. Never mind the homeless dying on the streets in winter, or the investors rushing for the exits. Everything is wonderful!

Then again, the Soviet Union also had Pravda, and Western admirers of communism willing to overlook even the most ghastly crimes. Socialism cannot abide truth, or dissent.

Raman also told Michaelson that she wants to get past “pay-to-play” politics. As if socialists had invented a better kind of politician; as if socialism had done away with greed.

Raman’s description of socialism was so empty that at one point in the CNN interview, Michaelson asked her if she considered herself a capitalist. She dodged that one, too.

She was right about one thing: “Angelenos are ready for something new,” she said.

After four years of mismanagement by Karen Bass, that’s true. But socialism isn’t “new.”

Socialism is one of the oldest ideas in the world. It has never worked, except in a few circumstances — like the Israeli collective farms, the kibbutzim. (The US socialists hate Israel, though, so don’t tell them that.)

Socialism combines high-minded sentiments with heavy-handed repression.

Nithya Raman chose the “socialist” label. She should wear it.

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