Two Competing Visions for America. Which One Will You Choose?

In his victory speech on Nov. 4, New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani declared, “We will prove there is no problem too large for government to solve.” His crowd went wild.

In North and South America, we see that government creates problems from sheer size

But history has already proven that Mr. Mamdani’s claim doesn’t hold up. When government power grows too large and unchecked, good intentions give way to inefficiency, corruption, and even oppression.

Just look at our own hemisphere: Nations like Cuba and Venezuela made the exact same promise to their people – that government could fix every social and economic problem. Instead, they ended up with shortages, lost freedoms, and deep inequality.

I’d agree with Mr. Mamdani that there are tremendous challenges facing our nation – and we likely even agree on what most of those challenges are – but I believe in a far more powerful, effective, and lasting way to solve those challenges: free people, empowered by unlimited opportunity.

Two competing visions for America – government or free people

These are two contrasting ways of addressing society’s problems. Mr. Mamdani’s crowd made an unapologetic rallying cry for a bigger, stronger, more powerful government that will be the answer to every problem, big and small. And in doing so, offered a perfect crystallization of the current divide in our country that we’re seeing deepen on a daily basis.

It’s shocking, but not necessarily surprising.

Polling shows a decreasing number of Americans proud to be American. The highs were 20-plus years ago, when 91% were “extremely or very” proud to be American, while the historic low today sits at 58%. Since 2001, those numbers have steadily decreased both within and across generations.

We are at a key inflection point in our nation’s history as we approach our 250th anniversary. We are having foundational conversations about who we are, what it means to be American, and what we want our country to look like in the future.

At Americans for Prosperity, we have a very different view from Mr. Mamdani of the role of government and the power of free people.

Our Founders wove a deep belief in free people – and a deep skepticism of unlimited government – into our founding documents. We have checks and balances on power, enshrined rights and freedoms, and paths to prosperity because the founders valued free people over government control.

The United States respects the individual

The United States is undeniably the beacon of hope for the world because it’s founded on the value of the individual and the ideals articulated in the Declaration of Independence. We believe every person should have an equal opportunity to pursue their dreams and determine their destiny.

For free people, there is truly no problem too big or care too small. Free people don’t wait on a government middleman to solve their problems or redefine what’s possible.

Our founding principles, grounded in freedom and opportunity for all, have echoed throughout history in Americans willing to live by them and fight for them. Those principles have opened the door to innovation, invention, problem-solving, and true community like the world has never seen.

Of course, government serves a necessary purpose; the Constitution says as much. It provides for the defense of the nation, enumerates rights, and protects the most vulnerable with safety nets, amongst other services to the people.

But the Founders never intended for an all-powerful government to solve every problem that arose in society. Quite the opposite. It was the checks on the government that preserved and protected the freedom of the people that made our nation so exceptional.

A free society empowers its people with open doors to prosperity. A controlled society shuts those doors.

New York turns its back on freedom

Mamdani’s election to lead New York City provides an interesting contrast with the city’s revolutionary past. New York City served as our nation’s first capital. George Washington was inaugurated there.

In its history, you can see two brazenly different visions for this country – one is for freedom and liberty; the other is for restriction and control. Mr. Mamdani’s words are a wake-up call to remember that when we grow too dependent on government to solve every problem, we risk losing the very independence that made America exceptional in the first place.

Those who embrace Mr. Mamdani’s vision for top-down government control are willing to sacrifice their individual liberties to live at the mercy of the government. In such a world, you can only hope that those in charge truly do have your health, safety, and best interests at heart.

Or we can embrace a vision of bottom-up empowerment that restores our founding principles. This is the vision where free people solve problems, government plays its proper role, and prosperity is unlimited for everyone. 

I know which one I’ll be fighting for.

This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.