In Context: Zohran Mamdani’s use of phrase ‘seizing the means of production.’ What’s it mean?

A phrase Zohran Mamdani used in 2021 made the rounds in media reports and social media after the 33-year-old won the Democratic primary in the New York City mayoral race.

A self-described democratic socialist, Mamdani used the phrase "seizing the means of production" during a live streamed conference of the Young Democratic Socialists of America in February 2021. 

A White House spokesperson highlighted Mamdani’s use of the phrase in an email to PolitiFact July 1, days after we published our June 26 fact-check of President Donald Trump who called Mamdani "communist" in a Truth Social post. The White House didn’t send us evidence to support Trump’s statement before our fact-check was posted; multiple political scientists and communism experts told us Mamdani’s mayoral race positions did not amount to communism. We rated Trump’s statement False. 

The spokesperson sent us a June 30 New York Post article highlighting Mamdani’s 2021 remarks as a newly elected state assemblyman and a 2020 Mamdani tweet praising a young leader. (We won’t dwell on the latter post because Mamdani’s point isn’t clear.) Fox News, Mediate and CNN pundits flagged his resurfaced remarks.  

After reviewing the tape and re-interviewing experts, we decided not to change our False rating. Mamdani’s views in the mayoral race do not reflect communism, and experts found his 2021 remark too brief to reach detailed conclusions.

Mamdani, a foreclosure housing prevention counselor, won the state assembly race in 2020. A significant part of his 2020 platform was calling for the right of tenants to renew their lease and protections against rent hikes. In his 2025 mayoral platform, Mamdani calls for free buses and child care, more affordable housing and a handful of city-owned grocery stores. He faces a general election in November.

A Mamdani campaign spokesperson, Andrew Epstein, said, "There is nothing in his platform or in his record regarding seizing the means of production." On NBC’s Meet the Press, Mamdani said that he is not a communist and is fighting for working people and against income inequality.

We wanted to share with our readers what experts had to say about Mamdani talking about "seizing the means of production."

What Mamdani said in 2021

About a month after taking office in 2021, Mamdani spoke to a Young Democratic Socialists of America virtual conference. 

Throughout his roughly 40-minute remarks, Mamdani praised democratic socialism. The relevant portion of the clip starts around minute 10, when he spoke about acting on an agenda based on conviction of beliefs, whether they are popular or not. 

"But then there are also other issues that we firmly believe in, whether it's BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions of Israel), right, or whether it's the end goal of seizing the means of production, where we do not have the same level of support at this very moment. 

"And what I want to say is that it is critical that the way that we organize, the way that we set up our you know, set up our work and our priorities, that we do not leave any one issue for the other, that we do not meet a moment and only look at what people are ready for, but that we are doing both of these things in tandem, because it is critical for us to both meet people where they're at and to also organize and organize for what is correct and for what is right and to ensure over time we can bring people to that issue." 

Was that a clear call for communism?

Experts in political parties and movements said Mamdani’s passing remark is associated with communism, but it’s hard to say much more about Mamdani’s views because he did not elaborate.

 Ted Henken, a Baruch College sociology and Cuban culture professor, said whether "seizing the means of production" qualified as communist would depend on policy depth. "Many capitalist countries seize control of strategic areas of production or service; oil and minerals is a good example in Mexico and Brazil," Henken said.

Mamdani also said that there was disagreement over the goal, Henken noted.

"A tweet or soundbite from a few years ago is different from the policies he has outlined in his mayoral platform and nowhere does he advocate ‘seizing the means of production’ there," Henken said. "His policies rather seek to implement socialist style regulation of key public needs and services in areas like housing, food, education and transportation via higher taxes on the very rich."

Anna Grzymala-Busse, a Stanford University international studies professor, said that seizing the means of production is a socialist and communist goal. "The difference is that with communism, there is also one ruling party that brooks no opposition and no pluralist civil society," she said. 

Harvey Klehr, an Emory University emeritus professor of politics and history, told us that communists "issued calls to seize the means of production. (Karl) Marx had identified these as the mines, mills and factories that produced the raw materials and goods of industrial civilization."

Democratic socialists "have long eschewed rhetoric about seizing the means of production," Klehr said. "In the 20th century it became a defining difference between communists and socialists. When socialist governments came to power in England in 1945 and France in the 1980s, they did not seize the means of production but nationalized some industries and compensated owners." Later, he said, they walked it back.

As for Mamdani, he said, "there is no way of telling exactly what Mamdani means by using that phrase, but it is redolent of authoritarian communists’ language."

Geoffrey Kurtz, an associate political science professor at Borough of Manhattan Community College, said listening to the video clip and watching Mamdani, "I had the impression that Mamdani intended that phrase as lighthearted hyperbole. I see no reason to assume that the phrase conveys anything precise about what he thinks."

PolitiFact Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this article.

RELATED: Zohran Mamdani is favored to win NYC mayoral primary. Claims he's a communist are False