Parts of the American left, long dominated by a discourse focused on minorities, are showing renewed interest in Marxist thought and turning their analytical focus back to economic inequality, according to a report. The shift is described as being driven in part by Senator Bernie Sanders and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, with the aim of putting economic inequality at the center of debate.
Signs of anxiety among Republicans and some Democrats are visible in Congress. In November 2025, the House of Representatives passed a resolution denouncing the "horrors of socialism." On September 1, another resolution condemned "socialism in all its forms," naming in particular the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), the country's main socialist organization. Neither text has the force of law, but they reflect concern about what the report calls the return of the "socialist peril."
The DSA's influence has been boosted by Mamdani, a longtime member elected mayor of New York at the end of 2025. In his January inauguration speech, he said he wanted to replace "the coldness of fierce individualism with the warmth of collectivism." During the year, 123 DSA-backed candidates won primaries at all levels, including 19 congressional hopefuls, a breakthrough the report compares to the Tea Party's 2010 rise within the Republican Party.
The left-wing magazine The Nation calls them "the insurgents." It writes that the wave that swept the US in spring and summer, with a sharp rise in voter participation and strong primary results for young candidates challenging incumbents, is not undermining the Democratic Party. On the contrary, the report says, it is giving the party new momentum.
Sources: Le Monde International.