The scenario where Zohran Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist and New York City mayoral candidate, wins the mayoral election and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) ascends to the U.S. presidency, implementing radical policies like abolishing private property and prisons, presents a transformative and polarising vision for America. This blog piece explores the hypothetical consequences of such policies, drawing on Mamdani's stated positions, AOC's progressive agenda, and the broader socio-economic and political implications. While Mamdani's proposals, abolishing prisons and private property, are rooted in his campaign rhetoric, as reported by Geller Report and Fox News, their national adoption under an AOC presidency would likely trigger profound disruption, economic collapse, social unrest, and a reconfiguration of American governance, with outcomes ranging from revolutionary change to systemic failure.
Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for NYC mayor in 2025, has sparked controversy with resurfaced statements advocating for transformative policies. In a 2020 interview, Mamdani questioned the purpose of prisons, stating, "What purpose do they serve? We have to ask ourselves that," and suggested a justice system focused on repairing harm rather than incarceration. Similarly, he has expressed openness to abolishing private property, arguing that a system guaranteeing universal housing, whether through state control or property abolition, is preferable to current homelessness crises. These positions, amplified by critics like Fox News and Geller Report, align with his broader socialist platform, which includes rent freezes, city-run grocery stores, and a $30 minimum hourly wage.
If Mamdani implements these policies in New York City, the immediate effects would be seismic. Abolishing prisons would involve dismantling the NYPD's jail system, ending solitary confinement, repealing mandatory minimums, and restoring voting rights for incarcerated individuals. Without a robust alternative, such as restorative justice systems or community-based interventions, crime could surge. NYC's 2024 crime stats already show a 4.1% rise in major crimes, with 28,000 reported felonies, per NYPD data. Removing prisons without addressing root causes, poverty, mental health, recidivism, could exacerbate violence, as seen in cities like San Francisco, where lenient policies led to a 23% shoplifting spike in 2023. Public safety fears, already high with 48% of New Yorkers feeling unsafe, per a Siena College poll, could drive wealthier residents and businesses to flee, as Geller Report notes luxury brokers anticipating an exodus.
Abolishing private property in NYC would mean seizing or heavily taxing private real estate, potentially nationalising housing to guarantee universal access. Mamdani's plan to raise taxes on "richer and whiter neighborhoods" suggests a redistributive approach, targeting Manhattan's affluent areas. This could crash NYC's $1.5 trillion real estate market, which accounts for 18% of the city's GDP, per the Real Estate Board of New York. Property values would plummet, eroding personal wealth and pension funds tied to real estate. Small businesses, reliant on leased spaces, could collapse, with 60% of NYC's 240,000 small businesses already struggling, per the NYC Department of Small Business Services. Wealth flight, as predicted by Mayor Eric Adams, could shrink the tax base, crippling the city's $111.6 billion budget.
If AOC, a prominent democratic socialist endorsed by Mamdani's allies like Bernie Sanders, becomes president, she could amplify these policies nationwide. AOC's Green New Deal, Medicare for All, and wealth tax proposals signal her openness to systemic overhaul. While she has not explicitly endorsed abolishing private property or prisons, her support for defunding the police and nationalising healthcare suggests compatibility with Mamdani's vision. A 2024 Gallup poll shows 65% of Americans oppose defunding the police, and only 27% support eliminating cash bail, indicating resistance to such radical shifts. Scaling Mamdani's policies nationally would face even stiffer opposition but could reshape America profoundly.
Eliminating the U.S. prison system, which houses 2.1 million inmates (639 per 100,000 people, per Bureau of Justice Statistics), would require dismantling federal and state correctional facilities. AOC's past support for reducing incarceration, evidenced by her 2020 call to redirect police budgets to social services, suggests she might back alternatives like community policing or rehabilitation programs. However, without prisons, enforcing laws against violent crimes (e.g., 1.2 million violent offenses in 2023, per FBI data) becomes nearly impossible. Historical experiments, like Seattle's 2020 CHOP zone, saw a 525% spike in violent crime when police presence was reduced. Nationwide, this could lead to vigilante justice, as communities, fearing unchecked crime, take matters into their own hands. Posts on X warn of "increased crime rates" without "robust alternatives," reflecting public scepticism.
The economic cost of replacing prisons with rehabilitation systems would be staggering. The U.S. spends $80 billion annually on corrections, but a 2023 Urban Institute study estimates restorative justice programs could cost $100 billion to scale effectively, requiring massive tax hikes. Public backlash, already evident in NYC's 57% disapproval of Mamdani's platform, per a Harris poll, could fuel political instability, with swing states rejecting progressive candidates in 2026 midterms.
AOC's wealth tax proposals, targeting fortunes above $10 million, align with Mamdani's anti-billionaire stance. Abolishing private property would involve nationalising key industries, housing, healthcare, utilities, and redistributing wealth. The U.S. housing market, valued at $47 trillion in 2024, per Zillow, would collapse if private ownership were eliminated. Homeowners, 75% of Americans per the Census Bureau, would lose their primary asset, wiping out $35 trillion in household wealth. Businesses, facing state seizure of assets, would halt investment, with GDP (projected at $28 trillion in 2025) potentially contracting by 20–30%, mirroring Venezuela's 65% GDP drop after nationalisations, per IMF data.
The Geller Report claims Mamdani's policies echo Marxist ideals, a charge amplified by critics like Sen. Ted Cruz, who called him a "communist." Historical attempts at abolishing private property, like in the Soviet Union or Maoist China, led to famines, poverty, and authoritarianism. In the U.S., such a policy would spark capital flight, with billionaires like Bill Ackman, who pledged to fund Mamdani's opponents, moving assets offshore. The Dow Jones, at 43,000 in July 2025, could crash, with a 2008-style recession costing 8 million jobs, per BLS historical data. Posts on X predict "poverty and misery," citing failed experiments in Cuba and North Korea.
Social unrest would likely escalate. The 2020 BLM protests, costing $2 billion in damages, per Axios, pale against potential riots over property seizures or unchecked crime. Armed militias, already active in 25 states, could exploit the vacuum, with 40% of Americans owning guns, per Gallup. X posts warn of citizens becoming "slaves of the state," reflecting fears of authoritarianism as government power expands to enforce redistribution.
Internationally, an AOC presidency pushing Mamdani's policies would weaken U.S. influence. Allies like the UK and Japan, reliant on American economic stability, would face trade disruptions, with the dollar (70% of global reserves, per IMF) losing value. Adversaries like China, which approved 52 coal plants in 2024, per Daily Sceptic, could exploit America's economic chaos to dominate markets. NATO, already strained by Trump's 2025 pullback, could fracture, with Europe rethinking defence alliances. Mamdani's anti-Israel stance, if echoed by AOC, could embolden groups like Hamas, escalating Middle East tensions, as Geller Report warns of "globalised intifada."
Proponents argue these policies could address inequality. Mamdani's housing guarantee and AOC's wealth tax aim to close the wealth gap, with the top 1% owning 32% of U.S. wealth, per Federal Reserve data. Prison abolition could reduce the $182 billion spent annually on mass incarceration, redirecting funds to education or healthcare, per the Sentencing Project. Yet, the absence of clear alternatives, restorative justice or state-run housing, risks chaos. Sweden's socialised housing, often cited by socialists, retains private ownership and took decades to implement, unlike Mamdani's radical vision. Public support for such extremes is low, with only 18% of Americans favouring socialism, per a 2024 Rasmussen poll.
If Mamdani wins NYC's mayoralty and AOC ascends to the presidency, implementing prison and property abolition would likely plunge America into economic collapse, social unrest, and political chaos. NYC's economy could crater, with businesses and residents fleeing, while national policies would erode wealth, spike crime, and alienate allies. Historical precedents, Venezuela, USSR, suggest poverty and authoritarianism, not equality. While addressing inequality is noble, the lack of practical alternatives and public support dooms these radical experiments. America would face a reckoning, with radical Right populism or worse rising in response. The dream of equality could become a nightmare of chaos, in the flames of civil war.