Ben Shapiro Reacts To Woke TikToks: Dumb Socialists Edition | Volume 2

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Ben Shapiro Show – "Ben Shapiro Reacts To Woke TikToks: Dumb Socialists Edition | Volume 2"

Date: November 15, 2025
Host: Ben Shapiro (The Daily Wire)

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Ben Shapiro delivers his pointed conservative commentary while reacting to a series of pro-socialist TikTok videos. These clips—sparked by the recent election of a "democratic socialist" as New York's mayor—serve as a launching pad for Shapiro to dissect common arguments and misconceptions surrounding socialism, the Scandinavian welfare model, capitalism, and the role of innovation and private ownership in economic progress. The tone is fast-paced, combative, and dripping with Shapiro's characteristic sarcasm and critique.

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Main Discussion Points and Insights

1. Democratic Socialism vs. Capitalism – The Scandinavian Debate

• (01:15–03:41) The episode opens with TikTokers claiming that figures like New York’s new mayor represent "democratic socialism," likening the model to countries like Norway and Sweden.
  • Shapiro points out, "Norway's a capitalist country with a welfare structure and a gigantic oil fund. Sweden is a capitalist country with a welfare structure."
    [02:14–02:27]
  • He challenges the oversimplification: “If you want Scandinavian welfare levels, then you need to restrict immigration to basically zero and increase tax rates to like 60% on people with a lower-middle class income.”
    [03:10–03:30]
  • Memorable moment: Shapiro repeatedly interjects with “No, no, no” and “Nice” when responding to TikTokers’ conflation of democratic socialism with capitalist welfare states. His tone is dismissive and sharp.

2. Misunderstandings About Socialism

• (03:41–04:16) Another TikToker laments Americans’ negative views of socialism, blaming misconceptions sown through education.
  • Shapiro sarcastically agrees and then rebuts: “Yes, because it is. Yes. Correct.”
    [04:01]
  • TikTokers define socialism as prioritizing collective good over private ownership.
  • Shapiro counters: “Which ends with nationalization historically. If there’s no limiting principle, then every piece of private wealth ought to be held by ‘the people’."
    [04:16–04:28]

3. Wealth, Innovation, and ‘Billionaire Hoarding’

• (04:28–06:02) TikTokers claim that billionaire CEOs “stack their wealth” while ordinary people suffer.
  • Shapiro calls this “a Marxist lie,” asserting that capitalism raises living standards and that economic mobility is real.
  • he explains, "Billionaires don’t just shovel their money in a mattress somewhere… It goes to a bank... [and] lends it out to other people starting businesses. This is why liquidity in the economy leads to better interest rates. Everyone’s so ignorant. Read an Econ 101 book.”
    [05:37–06:02]
  • Notable quote reflecting Shapiro’s blunt tone: "Because you don’t understand anything. But you pretend that you do.”
    [06:06]

4. Global Socialism: European Success Stories or Cautionary Tales?

• (07:09–08:32) TikTokers respond to Shapiro’s critics by pointing to successful European cities and countries with socialist parties.
  • Shapiro deploys heavy sarcasm: “Paris is just a burgeoning wellspring of joy. It’s not falling into crime and unlivability. Everything is going great in these places. All of these places are great. They're just wonderful.”
    [07:27–07:39]
  • He draws the distinction between capitalist wealth generation and socialist redistribution:
    “Capitalism produced the high standard of living. And then socialism redistributed some of the gains toward welfare programs. That’s the best thing you could say about socialism.”
    [08:32–08:53]

5. ‘Hole Digging’ Analogy: Demystifying Means of Production

• (08:53–11:58) A TikTok narrator uses an analogy: a worker digging a hole with a borrowed shovel, arguing that under capitalism, the lender gets the $100, not the laborer.
  • Shapiro, incredulous: “No. What are you talking about? That’s the stupidest [thing] I ever heard in my life. Wrong.”
    [09:42]
  • He clarifies: “Under capitalism, I lend you the shovel for probably two bucks… you'll make $98 for digging the hole. That’s how capitalism actually works.”
    [09:42–10:00]
  • He continues, breaking down risk, wage, and ownership.
  • The analogy shifts to socialism: “Under socialism, the government decides whether the hole should be dug or not… If that person happens to be a friend of the government, maybe they get $10,000 for digging the hole. If it's just a poor person, they just force them to do it for free.”
    [10:54–11:17]

6. Criticisms of Central Planning and Lack of Incentive

• Shapiro highlights issues with state ownership: lack of incentive, scarcity, and corruption.
  • “Let’s say the government only has three shovels, but there are four diggers. I can’t go get another shovel. I’m stuck. Because no one else has a shovel. And there’s no incentive for anyone else to ever buy a shovel because they can never lend it out to me.”
    [11:58]

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On Scandinavian models:
  “Norway’s a capitalist country with a welfare structure and a gigantic oil fund.”
  [02:14–02:27] – Ben Shapiro

• On economic misconceptions:
  “This idea that you have people living in total penury in the United States, shacks, because Jeff Bezos is rich, is just economic nonsense.”
  [04:41–05:09] – Ben Shapiro

• On innovation and ‘billionaire hoarding’:
  “Billionaires don’t just shovel their money in a mattress somewhere… Read an Econ 101 book.”
  [05:37–06:02] – Ben Shapiro

• On European ‘socialist’ countries:
  “Paris is just a burgeoning wellspring of joy… Everything is going great in these places. All of these places are great. They're just wonderful.”
  [07:27–07:39] – Ben Shapiro (sarcastic)

• On the ‘hole digging’ analogy:
  “No. What are you talking about? That’s the stupidest I ever heard in my life. Wrong.”
  [09:42] – Ben Shapiro

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Key Segment Timeline

• Scandinavian Model Discussion: 01:15–03:41
• Socialism Definitions and Misconceptions: 03:41–04:28
• Arguments around Wealth and Innovation: 04:28–06:06
• Comparing Europe and the U.S.: 07:09–08:53
• ‘Hole Digging’ & Means of Production Debate: 08:53–11:58

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Conclusion

This episode is a fast-paced, critical analysis of pro-socialist arguments trending on TikTok, with Ben Shapiro offering counterpoints based in market economics and real-world examples. His tone remains sharp, often sarcastic, and combative as he dismantles what he sees as fundamental economic misunderstandings. The interplay between TikTokers’ points and Shapiro’s responses provides a punchy and engaging debate, making it an essential listen for those interested in contemporary culture wars and the ongoing debate over socialism vs. capitalism in America.

Transcript

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[Political Commentator 1]

All righty, folks. In the spirit of Zaramdani being the new mayor elect of New York, which is a very, very depressing reality, we're now going to examine some tiktokers and see what they have to say about the advent of radical pro jihadist socialism in New York City.

[Political Commentator 2]

If you encounter somebody who tries to tell you he's a socialist, like let's say your boomer parents, this is what you need to explain to them.

[Political Commentator 1]

Shut up. Get out.

[Political Commentator 2]

Mamdani is not a socialist. He's a democratic socialist.

[Political Commentator 1]

Okay, nice.

[Political Commentator 2]

Socialist countries are like North Korea or Cuba. You know what? Mamdani is a democratic socialist. And you know what else is democratic socialist countries?

[Political Commentator 1]

Norway.

[Advertiser]

Oh, no.

[Political Commentator 2]

Sweden.

[Political Commentator 1]

Now I'm gonna do this again. Norway's a capitalist country with a welfare structure and a gigantic oil fund. Sweden is a capitalist country with a welfare structure. You know how you know that? Because you can literally ask the leadership whether they are a democratic socialist country.

[Political Commentator 2]

Norway.

[Political Commentator 1]

You're not affiliated with me.

[Political Commentator 2]

Okay? He's like closer to the party of Copenhagen than Pyongyang. What democratic socialism believes in is still capitalism, but it is also like a really good safety net for.

[Political Commentator 1]

No, no, no, no. Zormadani literally Said he does not like capitalism. Do you like capitalism?

[Advertiser]

No.

[Political Commentator 1]

I have many critiques of capitalism. The democratic socialists of America, the wellspring from which he drank, says that they wish to overthrow capitalism entirely.

[Political Commentator 2]

So they do believe in like free health care and free, or like universal, at least universal like tuition. They want their like citizens to be taken care of while still believing in capitalism. And that's what Mamdani's viewpoint is.

[Political Commentator 1]

Okay, that is not Mamdani's viewpoint. He's made that clear over and over and over. What I love about people who are always talking about the Scandinavian welfare countries is how wonderful they are. Fine, you want to do Scandinavian welfare levels then number one, you got to restrict immigration to basically zero. And two, you also have to increase your tax rates to like 60% on people with a lower middle class income. That's the only way you can pay for this stuff. So if you're willing to do that, then I suppose you can try it. Also you have to destroy all incentive for innovation. So good luck to you.

[Political Commentator 3]

Okay, here's another political commentary that nobody asked for, but after seeing the responses after Mamdani has won New York, I think the vast majority of Americans do not understand socialism whatsoever.

[Political Commentator 1]

Correct.

[Political Commentator 3]

We have been bred throughout our entire education to believe that socialism is this evil, bad, big government dictatorship thing.

[Political Commentator 1]

Yes, because it is. Yes. Correct.

[Political Commentator 3]

When in reality a simple Google search would literally prove that wrong. Socialism is simply just the concept that the good of the people as a collective is prioritized by the government over private ownership and private wealth.

[Political Commentator 1]

Right. Which ends with nationalization historically. Because if there's no limiting principle, then literally every piece of private wealth that is currently held ought to be held by quote unquote. The people.

[Political Commentator 3]

Like, for example, let's take all of the big billionaire CEOs who own the pharmaceutical industry and have continued to stack and stack and stack and stack their wealth making billions, while your pay number one stays the same, but your medication cost, your cost of living goes up, up and up.

[Political Commentator 1]

Okay, that's not what's happened historically. This notion of the immiseration of the wage earners is a Marxist lie. It was pushed by Marx when he himself was writing Das Kapital and it turned out not to be true at all. This lady living in her apartment has all the wealth and wonder of Western civilization because of capitalism. Again, this idea that you have people who are living in total penury in the United States, you know, shacks, because Jeff Bezos is rich, is just economic nonsense.

[Political Commentator 4]

You took everything from me.

[Political Commentator 3]

Therefore you're not able to get your medication anymore. You're not able to afford to live. Okay, so in an ideal socialist government, if the government actually had the good of the people in mind, it would say, no, Mr. Big Billionaire CEO. You have enough money in one of your pockets to live a lavish, luxurious lifestyle for many lifetimes. And you don't need more. That money that you have made profiting off of poor sick people should go back to the poor sick people.

[Political Commentator 1]

And who is going to generate the innovation? Where do they think this money goes by the way? This nonsense that billionaires take their money and then they just shovel it in a mattress somewhere and leave it there? That's not what happens. It goes to a bank. You know what the bank then does? It lends it out to other people who are starting businesses or taking loans. This is why liquidity in the economy leads to people being able to get better interest rates. Everyone's so ignorant. Read an Econ 101 book.

[Political Commentator 3]

Seriously, I don't understand what is so scary and so bad about literally just helping people.

[Political Commentator 1]

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[Political Commentator 5]

Often hear critics of Zoran Mandani say socialism doesn't work. And for proof, they point to countries like Venezuela and Cuba, where poverty, corruption and political repression are widespread. But did you know that about half of The European Union's 140 largest cities are led by mayors from socialist political parties? That includes Paris, Barcelona and Frankfurt.

[Political Commentator 1]

And they're doing amazing, by the way. Paris is just a burgeoning wellspring of joy. It's not falling into crime and unlivability. Everything is going great in these places. All of these places are great. They're just wonderful.

[Political Commentator 5]

And if you take a look at the top of the list of countries on the 2025 World Happiness Report, many of them have long histories of socialist governance. I mean, just look at Finland, which is number one on the list. For the eighth year in a row it had a socialist prime minister. As recently as 2023. One of the two main political parties in the country is socialist.

[Political Commentator 1]

Okay? And then did they nationalize all the resources? Or are they a capitalist country with a bunch of social welfare? B, There are countries that have tried to do this. Sweden tried socialism in the 70s and it failed and they had to walk all of it back.

[Political Commentator 5]

Number two, Denmark currently has a socialist prime minister fourth on the list. Sweden socialists hold a majority of seats in Parliament. You may be asking why do they do so well? High levels of social support, strong trust in others and institutions, high standards of living, economic security. By the way, the US is 24th in the list. Now, I'm not here to endorse Mamdani or socialism, but I do think if you're going to assess him and his politics using other countries where socialism has not produced a high standard of living, you should also include places where it.

[Political Commentator 1]

Has because it didn't produce the high standard of living. Capitalism produced the high standard of living. And then socialism redistributed some of the gains toward welfare programs. That's the best thing you could say about socialism, is that social welfare programs, which are the safety net, are living off the back of the capitalist structure which generates all the innovation, all of the wealth and all the forward momentum for any economy.

[Political Commentator 4]

Here's a simple scenario to help you understand the difference between capitalism and socialism. Imagine that somebody hired you to dig a hole for them, okay? But you do not have the means or the tool to dig the hole. In this case it would be a shovel. So you go ahead and borrow a shovel from someone and let's say it takes you about an hour of backbreaking labor to go ahead and dig that hole. And in the end the customer pays you 100 doll. In this scenario, the person who dug the hole is the working class and the person who lent the shovel is a capitalist. Okay? And the question is, who is entitled? Who gets ownership of that $100 that was created under capitalism? The person who lent the shovel or the private owner of the means of production, the means of production being the tool that was needed to do the job. In this case, a simple shovel is entitled and gets ownership of the $100.

[Political Commentator 1]

No. What are you talking about? What are you talking about? That's the stupidest I ever heard in my life. Wrong. Under capitalism, I lend you the shovel for probably two bucks because I feel like you're going to give it back to me in an hour and you can probably find somebody else who'll give you a shovel for three bucks. So I will charge you two bucks so that you can borrow the shovel and then you'll make $98 for digging the hole. That's how capitalism actually works. You take a loan, you make a profit off of the use of proceeds, and then you pay back the loan. The hell is she talking about? In what world do I lend you a shovel and I take all $100? Now it's a different thing. If I pay you a wage, then you're getting paid a wage to dig the hole. So if I'm the owner of the company, let's say I'm the capitalist who owns the hole digging company and I take all the risk, I buy all the shovels, I pay you a salary, I cover your health insurance, and then I pay you a wage, I'm the one who bears the risk. Because if, as it turns out, there are not enough people to pay us for the digging of the holes, then okay, you go find another job. But I have invested all of the time and effort into building the business structure and going and purch all of the mechanisms of production. She doesn't even.

[Political Commentator 4]

God, everyone is a versus under socialism, the laborer, the person who actually dug the hole, is the one who gets ownership of the $100.

[Political Commentator 1]

Wrong. In socialism, the government decides whether the hole should be dug or not. First of all, if the government decides the hole should be dug, then the government dictates to somebody that they must dig the hole for a price that the government wishes to pay. If that person happens to be a friend of the government, maybe they get paid $10,000 for digging the hole. If it's just a poor person Then they just force them to do it for free. I'm tired of this, Grandpa.

[Political Commentator 4]

And under socialism, there are no private owners of the means of production or the tools or machines that workers need to do their job. Any tool or machine that you need to do the labor that you need to do is provided collectively to you from society.

[Political Commentator 1]

How does society get it? How does society get it? It's all confiscated from someone else. Amazing. You go to the society trade, it's just filled with shovels or some such. All right, I get it. This feels like it's three years long, this stupid thing. Another nine seconds.

[Political Commentator 4]

That doesn't mean that you can't own your own shovel if you want to. You just can't rent it out and make money off of other people's labor.

[Political Commentator 1]

Okay, but if you can't because you.

[Political Commentator 4]

Own the means of production.

[Political Commentator 1]

Okay, so under socialism, then I say, I need a shovel. And let's say that the government only has three shovels, but there are four diggers. I can't go get another shovel. I'm stuck. Because no one else has a shovel. And there's no incentive for anyone else to ever buy a shovel because they can never lend it out to me. The Bieber look is not working. Nor is the brain beneath the hair. Who is Justice Beaver? Only God can do. Only God can do. Only God can do. Only God can do it. To be fair, that was also me, a Florida resident who just purchased a bunch of real estate to sell to fleeing New York residents after Mom Donnie's win. What was that? Yeah, this will be two videos. It'll have to be because I'm P.