What Venetians Might Say to Zohran Mamdani

Venice, Italy — It is a tragicomic irony that the old Venetian Republic, because of its entrepreneurial and capitalist culture, has been admired by historians as “the New York City of its day.”

Given the socialist agenda of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, historians will have to find another modern metropolis to make comparisons. In the meantime, Mamdani and his communist clique should visit this extraordinary lagoon city and learn why it became the economic powerhouse of medieval Europe.

About the Author

Joseph Loconte

Joseph Loconte is the director of The Rivendell Center in New York City and the author of The War for Middle-earth: J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Confront the Gathering Storm, 1933–1945. He serves as a senior fellow at the Sagamore Institute and as the C.S. Lewis Scholar for Public Life at Grove City College. He is at work on a documentary film about the impact of war on the lives of Tolkien and Lewis.

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Venice, Italy — It is a tragicomic irony that the old Venetian Republic, because of its entrepreneurial and capitalist culture, has been admired by historians as “the New York City of its day.”

Given the socialist agenda of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, historians will have to find another modern metropolis to make comparisons. In the meantime, Mamdani and his communist clique should visit this extraordinary lagoon city and learn why it became the economic powerhouse of medieval Europe.

About the Author

Joseph Loconte

Joseph Loconte is the director of The Rivendell Center in New York City and the author of The War for Middle-earth: J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Confront the Gathering Storm, 1933–1945. He serves as a senior fellow at the Sagamore Institute and as the C.S. Lewis Scholar for Public Life at Grove City College. He is at work on a documentary film about the impact of war on the lives of Tolkien and Lewis.