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Liberal Elites Promote ‘Abundance,’ But Democratic Voters Want Socialism
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Liberal Elites Promote ‘Abundance,’ But Democratic Voters Want Socialism
Pro-capitalist social liberalism resembles the “reform conservatism” that President Trump vanquished.
The next mayor of DC is set to be a far-left police abolitionist backed by the Democratic Socialists of America. Janeese Lewis George won the Democratic primary this week. Barring a miracle, she will be the next mayor of the city where Republicans don’t exist.
Lewis George made her name in DC politics as a Black Lives Matter activist campaigning to defund the police. She still wants to abolish ICE. She wants to implement numerous left-wing policies, such as expanded rent control, more subsidized housing, and greater business regulations. No one would accuse her of being a pro-business moderate.
She’s just one of many socialists gaining support in Democratic primaries: Chicago, New York, and Seattle are led by DSA-backed politicians, and LA may have a socialist mayor after November. A DSA-aligned candidate could be the party’s Senate nominee in Michigan and Minnesota, as well as its gubernatorial candidate in Wisconsin. Progressives are also doing well in other races. Graham Platner is the most notable example.
All this proves the Democratic base wants far-left candidates. This is bad news for “abundance” liberals and others who wanted the party to move to the center. Their actual voters resonate to a completely different message.
Abundance is an idea put forward by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, two pundits with deep influence in establishment media. It’s a pretty simple concept: Democrats need to embrace pro-growth policies to counter the MAGA Right, win back independents, and make America great again.
Abundance liberals want Democrats to come to terms with the market rather than declare war on it. They want to deregulate and to encourage businesses to thrive. Of course, they haven’t given up on social liberalism. An abundance-centered Democratic Party would still advocate for open borders and Pride Months, but as part of an agenda that aims to eliminate government bloat and champion capitalism.
In their book promoting this agenda, Klein and Thompson focused on the failures of Democratic governance in big cities as evidence for the need for abundance. Left-wing policies, in their opinion, have led to failing social services and fleeing businesses.
The book became a bestseller last year. It was endorsed by Gavin Newsom and numerous Democratic donors. It inspired 30 House Democrats to form a “Build America Caucus.” It also generated a constant supply of takes for and against abundance among the commentariat. Whether people agreed with it or not, abundance was a serious idea the Left paid attention to.
That was then. Unfortunately for Klein and Thompson, the policies they criticized remain very popular among Democratic voters across the country, especially the major cities. Indeed, no idea has been more thoroughly repudiated in Democratic primaries this year than abundance. Candidates who stand in strongest contrast to abundance continue to win.
A party represented by Platner, Mamdani, and Lewis George is not the one envisioned by Klein and Thompson. Even worse for them, this anti-growth socialism continues to win in cities where it proves the most devastating. Seattle’s socialist mayor is a major factor in convincing nearly half of Washington businesses to consider leaving the state.
Klein understands much of his party is rejecting his core idea. In an April podcast, he conceded a lot of points to his critics and tried to insist that abundance liberals want the same things as socialists. They just want to use different means. It’s an argument that’s falling on deaf ears.
Abundance resembles a lot of fads among conservative intellectuals and policy makers. It’s extremely common for this group to begin championing some particular idea as the new way forward for the right while their voters reject or ignore it at the ballot box. In the mid-2010s, self-described “reform conservatives” presented themselves as the future of Republican politics. They posited a wonky, bloodless form of conservatism that would aim to offer an eclectic mix of policy proposals to everyday problems. It notably took little interest in cultural matters. Reformoconism inspired zero enthusiasm among Republican voters. They picked Donald Trump, a man who dispensed with wonkery in favor of the red meat the base desired.
Abundance arose in a time when Democrats were trying to find their way after the devastating 2024 loss. Leading liberal commentators and Democratic politicians were eager to say they were putting woke away. They wanted to be seen as moderates who understood why their party lost in ‘24. They were leery of the far-left and how it had alienated the public from the Democrats. Back then, the left was primed to hear the message of abundance. It appeared to offer something new and different. It aligned with the spirit of aspirational moderation.
But a lot has changed since then. The pro-Trump “vibe shift” came to an end. Zohran Mamdani became mayor of New York City. Democrats revived “abolish ICE.” The Iran War happened. The Democratic base became much angrier. Now, the enthusiasm for moderation is dead, replaced by Mamdani.
Abundance liberals’ enthusiasm for growth faces a major obstacle with Democrats’ sharp turn against tech. AI and data centers are the enemy. Even though tech may be the biggest contributor to American economic growth right now, Democratic voters want it to stop. No amount of abundance rhetoric can convince them otherwise.
These state and local contests offer a possible preview of what the 2028 Democratic presidential primary may look like. For all the efforts spent by Newsom and others to move to the center, they may all be forced to cater to their party’s radical elements to have any hope of winning the nomination. Few will tout their abundance credentials.
For all the hype and attention, abundance liberalism may end up as relevant as the reformocons. The only ones who may remember it are the ones who bought the book.
The post Liberal Elites Promote ‘Abundance,’ But Democratic Voters Want Socialism appeared first on The American Conservative.
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