The year 2025 began with a new POTUS (President of the United States) and is ending with Zohran Mamdani as the incoming new Mayor of New York City (NYC). It is a curious twist of fortunes, but all this while welfarism keeps returning centre stage. Politicians of the left and the right reach for it when inequality widens or when growth feels exclusive. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brazil, the Keir Starmer government in the United Kingdom, and in India, various Chief Ministers have built on welfare-led politics. Now, the Big Apple will have its “Mamdani moment”.

Mr. Mamdani will begin governing only from January 1, 2026, with an all-women Transition Team, but the headline promises — free buses, rent freezes, universal childcare — pose a basic question. What does sustainable welfarism look l

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