As the confetti from New Year's celebrations settles on the streets of Manhattan, a new era dawns for the Big Apple under Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the city's first Muslim and openly democratic socialist leader. In his inauguration speech yesterday, Mamdani declared: "We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism."
These words, delivered with the fervor of a reformer, evoked a sense of communal solidarity amid New York's housing crises and economic inequalities. Yet, for those versed in the annals of 20th-century history, they carry a chilling resonance – one that harks back to the forcible imposition of communism in Eastern Europe, particularly in Romania, where similar promises of collective warmth masked decades of repression, famine, and economic ruin.
As a reporter who has covered the lingering scars of Soviet-era regimes across the Balkans, I cannot ignore the parallels. Romania's fall to communism in the post-World War II era serves as a stark cautionary tale. If Mamdani's rhetoric translates into deeds – policies prioritizing state-led collectivism over individual enterprise – New York City could face dark days ahead, marked by stifled innovation, eroded property rights, and a slide toward bureaucratic authoritarianism. This is not alarmism; it is history substantiated by the lived experiences of millions.
Romania's descent into communism began not with revolution from below, but with imposition from above, orchestrated by Soviet forces in the chaotic aftermath of World War II. In 1944, following the overthrow of the fascist dictator Ion Antonescu, a fragile coalition emerged between democratic parties rooted in Western liberal traditions and the nascent Communist Party, which pledged allegiance to Moscow. Despite scant popular support – the communists garnered less than 10% in genuine polls – they maneuvered into power with Stalin's backing.
Key figures like Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, leader of the "native" Romanian communists, and Ana Pauker, head of the Soviet-trained "Muscovites," visited Moscow in January 1945 to secure approval for their takeover. By March 6, 1945, Soviet pressure forced King Michael to appoint Petru Groza, a pro-communist, as prime minister. From there, the communists seized control of security forces, media, and key ministries, systematically dismantling opposition. The National Peasant Party, led by Iuliu Maniu, rallied around the king and appealed for Western intervention, but the Allies' recognition of Groza's government in February 1946 sealed Romania's fate.
The November 1946 elections were a farce, rigged to claim an 80% victory for the communists and their allies, despite evidence of widespread fraud. By 1947, liberal institutions crumbled under the weight of Soviet ideology. Opposition leaders faced show trials; Maniu was imprisoned, and King Michael was coerced into abdication on December 30, 1947, paving the way for the proclamation of the Romanian People’s Republic. This marked the full pivot from individualism – private enterprise, free markets, and personal freedoms – to collectivism, where the state became the arbiter of all.
Under the 1948 constitution, modeled on the Soviet Union's, power vested in the Communist Party, with state institutions merely executing its will. The Securitate, a vast secret police network, enforced compliance. Private organizations dissolved, churches were subjugated, and mass organizations mobilized to indoctrinate the populace. Economically, Stalinist central planning prioritized heavy industry, neglecting consumer goods. Agriculture, the backbone of Romania's pre-war economy, was collectivized by 1962, confiscating private lands and forcing peasants into state farms. This "warmth of collectivism" – as propagandists framed it – resulted in terror: arrests, public humiliations, executions, and the destruction of the independent farmer class, seen as a threat due to their self-sufficiency.
The consequences were catastrophic. Romania, once Europe's leading grain exporter, plunged into chronic food shortages. Communists seized crops and livestock, leading to famine and malnutrition. Productivity collapsed as incentives evaporated; owning more than others became a crime. Culturally, the regime attacked religion, replacing family and faith with party loyalty. By the 1950s, under Gheorghiu-Dej, purges eliminated rivals like Pauker, and Soviet domination deepened through organizations like Comecon and the Warsaw Pact.
The 1960s brought a veneer of "national communism." Gheorghiu-Dej relaxed some controls, improving housing, healthcare, and education while defying Soviet economic subordination in a 1964 "declaration of independence." But this was no liberalization; ideology remained rigid. After his death in 1965, Nicolae Ceaușescu ascended, amplifying the cult of personality. He expanded Western ties to reduce Soviet influence but intensified domestic repression. His 1971 "July Theses" restored orthodoxy, intruding into daily life. To repay foreign debts from failed industrialization, Ceaușescu exported essentials in the 1980s, causing shortages of food, fuel, and medicine. Living standards plummeted; industries and agriculture disorganized under Stalinist mismanagement.
Minorities suffered acutely: Hungarians in Transylvania faced assimilation policies, while "village systematization" demolished rural communities to eradicate peasant independence. By the late 1980s, Romania was a police state, with the Securitate propping up Ceaușescu amid widespread despair. The regime collapsed in December 1989 amid uprisings in Timișoara and Bucharest, culminating in Ceaușescu's execution on Christmas Day. The National Salvation Front, dominated by ex-communists, oversaw a halting transition, but the scars – economic backwardness, eroded trust, and generational trauma – persist.
Romania's collectivism was not voluntary warmth but forced subjugation: 90% of farmland collectivized by the 1960s, millions imprisoned or killed, and a once-vibrant economy reduced to ration lines. The shift from individualism to state control promised equity but delivered tyranny.
Parallels in Mamdani's Manifesto
Mayor Mamdani's invocation of "the warmth of collectivism" mirrors the seductive language used by Romanian communists to justify their power grab.
In his speech, he positioned it as an antidote to individualism's "frigidity," echoing how Eastern Bloc leaders framed capitalism as cold and exploitative, while collectivism offered communal embrace. But as a Romanian immigrant highlighted in a viral video, these are "famous words spoken by every communist in history."
The man, identifying as Bogdan, recounted how such rhetoric preceded land confiscation, terror, and famine in Romania – a narrative corroborated by historical records.
Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist of America member, has pledged policies that align with this shift: reviving "big government" through rent freezes, city-run grocery stores, and defunded policing in favor of community oversight.
These echo Romania's early steps: state seizure of property (akin to rent controls as "textbook land confiscation"), suppression of independent classes (small landlords targeted as "threats"), and replacement of market freedoms with central planning (public groceries supplanting private trade).If words match deeds, New York's dark days could manifest in several ways. First, economic stagnation: Collectivization in Romania killed incentives, turning exporters into beggars. In NYC, aggressive interventions could deter investment, exacerbating the exodus of businesses and high-earners already fleeing high taxes. Second, erosion of freedoms: Romanian communists attacked faith and family; Mamdani's platform, while not explicitly anti-religious, emphasizes state authority over individual choice, potentially clashing with diverse communities. Third, repression: The Securitate enforced compliance; defunded police and "equity" mandates could foster a culture of surveillance and public shaming, as seen in DSA pushes for activist councils.
Critics, including Rep. Chip Roy and commentator Brit Hume, warn this is "Marxist" ideology repackaged.
Hume shared a post linking Mamdani's words to historical famines like the Holodomor, where collectivism starved millions.
Ayn Rand, a refugee from Soviet collectivism, predicted such trends in 1959, decrying them as "enslavement."
New York, a beacon of rugged individualism – think Wall Street's entrepreneurs or immigrant hustlers – risks becoming a laboratory for failure.
A Warning for the World's Financial Capital
New Yorkers elected Mamdani amid frustration with inequality, much as Romanians initially tolerated communists amid post-war chaos. But history shows collectivism's warmth is illusory; it burns out individual spark, leaving ashes of dependency. If Mamdani's administration confiscates via policy what markets built, the city could face productivity collapse, shortages (imagine rationed housing), and moral decay, as self-reliance yields to state patronage.
This is not inevitable. Romania escaped in 1989 through revolution; New York can course-correct via markets and pluralism. But ignoring the echoes invites peril. As Bogdan urged, "Some Americans are the dumbest morons on the planet" for repeating history.
For a city that prides itself on resilience, the test is whether it heeds the lessons of the past – or succumbs to a chilling embrace.
