There is an old saying about revolutions: Sooner or later, they come for their own.
The lesson appears to be sinking in with one of America's best-known progressive academics.
As RedState's Nick Arama reported, NYU professor and liberal podcaster Scott Galloway is publicly criticizing New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani after finding himself included in a publicly searchable property database connected to the city's controversial new pied-à-terre tax.
This is quite the change of tune for a socialist academic. Galloway has long supported higher taxes on the wealthy and initially backed Mamdani's plan to impose a surcharge on luxury second homes.
Then his own name and address appeared in the city's database. Now he's accusing the mayor of effectively creating a "wanted poster."
"I've been doxed," Galloway said on his Pivot podcast with co-host Kara Swisher.
Scott Galloway is upset about being 'doxed' after he supported Mamdani's pied-à-terre tax:
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) August 1, 2026
"He's taken a legitimate source of tax revenue, and he's turning it into a wanted poster."
"What is the upside here? Why is he doing this?"
Incredible. pic.twitter.com/9Yrb9lw4An
"I don't know if you've heard, but Mayor Mamdani has decided to release a list of the 950,000 residences with addresses and names that might be eligible for his pied-à-terre tax."
"I don't love this," Swisher replied. "I can't say I love this. It feels a little bit like doxing. Just tax them and get on with it is my feeling."
Galloway then read aloud a definition of doxing as "'publishing private identifying information to expose someone to public pressure or harm without their consent.'"
READ MORE: Bill Maher Makes His Audience Gasp Simply by Reading the DSA Platform Out Loud
The NYU professor argued that while he still supports the tax itself, publishing the information serves no legitimate purpose.
"He's taken a legitimate source of tax revenue, and he's turning it into a wanted poster," Galloway said.
"The question I would have is, other than trying to identify and imply these people have done something wrong—and then, 18 months after a healthcare CEO was executed in the street, published the list—what is the upside here? Why is he doing this?"
This criticism is rich coming from someone who largely agrees with Mamdani's broader economic agenda.
"I came out in favor of this tax," Galloway said.
But he argued that the implementation crossed a line.
Kulaks might have made a similar argument when the Bolsheviks incited peasants to expropriate land for the communists—a “revolution from above” that led to massacres.
The “dekulakisation” campaign begun in January 1930 had in reality a twofold objective: to “extract” (the term used in secret police directives) “elements” likely to resist the collectivisation of the countryside being undertaken at the same time; and to “colonise” the vast, inhospitable areas of Siberia, the Northern Region, the Urals and Kazakhstan. The first objective corresponded to the view, clearly expressed by the Bolsheviks when they took power, that peasant society contained “exploitative elements” that were irremediably hostile to the regime and that would sooner or later have to be “liquidated as a class”. In fact, Stalin merely repeated Lenin’s famous diatribes against the “kulaks”: since 1918, “kulaks”, an artificially constructed group, had been subjected to stereotyping and dehumanisation; they had been designated, in the press and propaganda, as “cockroaches”, “blood-suckers”, “vampires”, or just plain “scum”, “vermin” and “garbage” to be cleansed, crushed and liquidated (Colas, 1995). […]
The violence perpetrated by the dekulakisation gangs was horrific. “These people”, noted one GPU report, ”drove the dekulakised naked in the streets, beat them, organized drinking-bouts in their houses, shot over their heads, forced them to dig their own graves, undressed women and searched them, stole valuables, money, etc. (Graziosi, 1996).
Those dehumanization tactics might appear familiar to those who have witnessed the rise of the DSA in the Democratic Party. Anyone who has listened to left-wing darling Hasan Piker's maniacal ravings knows that comparing today's Democrats to Stalinists is not a reach.
Later in the podcast, Galloway warned that Mamdani's approach was reinforcing conservatives' longstanding criticisms of progressive taxation.
"He's not only playing into the worst fears about him, but he's making it harder for all progressives," Galloway said.
"I believe in a progressive tax structure. I believe we should raise tax rates. The Republicans, in order to create deficits and continue to transfer money from the poor to the rich, they argue that progressive tax structures are persecution. This plays exactly into that entire narrative."
He also objected to what he viewed as treating financial success itself as suspect.
"He's implying we've done something wrong because we're successful," Galloway said. "New York is the last place you want to demonize success."
Expanding on that point, he argued that New York's appeal has always been rooted in rewarding hard work.
"The reason people move to New York is they think, 'I want to be successful on Broadway. I want to be successful in business. I want to be successful in the arts. No one's going to get in my f---ing way if I'm really talented and work hard,'" Galloway said.
"We're going to celebrate it. We're not going to put a big R on your door and say you've done something wrong because you're successful."
Galloway also questioned why the city published such an expansive database when most listed properties may never owe the tax.
"Ninety-five percent of the people on the list supposedly aren't going to be subject to the tax," he said. "Other than implying these people have done something wrong and publishing their address without their permission, without their consent, what possible upside is there from publishing this list?"
Facing mounting confusion, the Mamdani administration has scrambled to do damage control. He has since extended the deadline for homeowners seeking exemptions from the tax until Sept. 18.
"We are announcing the extension of the exemption application deadline to ensure that New Yorkers who received the 'You may be subject to ...' letters have the time and information they need," Mamdani said.
"The tax property roll that was posted last week is a reflection of all properties across New York City," he said, "not a reflection of those specifically that the pied-à-terre tax will be levied upon."
Mayor Mamdani described the surcharge as "an important new tool" for raising revenue to fund public safety, parks, and other city priorities.
The Bolsheviks also justified confiscating private property in the name of the “public good.”
When Marxist intellectuals start noticing that history is repeating itself in the United States, you know it’s becoming obvious.
