Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., warned Friday at the Munich Security Conference that Western democracies must deliver \u201cmaterial gains for the working class\u201d to defeat the rise of authoritarianism and protect the institutions they value.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to have a working class-centered politics if we are going to succeed, and also if we are going to stave off the scourges of authoritarianism, which also provides political siren calls to allure people into finding scapegoats to blame for rising economic inequality, both domestically and globally,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The New York congresswoman and progressive Democratic star spoke of \u201cthe betrayal that the working class in the United States have felt\u201d toward its elites over many years, while assailing \u201cmilitary interventionism and the Iraq war,\u201d labeling the North American Free Trade Agreement a \u201cfailed policy\u201d for many working-class Americans, and inveighing against stagnating wages and the rise of income inequality.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it is of utmost urgent priority that we get our economic houses in order and deliver material gains for the working class,\u201d she said. \u201cOr else we will fall to a more isolated world governed by authoritarians that also do not deliver to working people.\u201d<\/p>\n
The remarks from AOC, as she is nicknamed, provide a rare glimpse into her foreign policy views as speculations grows about her future political ambitions. She made her debut at the Munich Security Conference, rubbing elbows with world leaders and diplomats at a time of global turmoil and sharply criticizing President Donald Trump\u2019s mercurial attitudes to foreign relations.<\/p>\n
Ocasio-Cortez smiled and sidestepped a pointed question from a moderator who asked if she\u2019ll seek to impose a wealth tax or a billionaires tax \u201cwhen you run for president.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that we don\u2019t have to wait for any one president to impose a wealth tax,\u201d the congresswoman said. \u201cI think that it needs to be done expeditiously.\u201d<\/p>\n
Underneath her comments was a dire warning to the assembled elites: They can debate foreign policy all they want, but leaders who value the \u201crules-based order\u201d won\u2019t be calling the shots tomorrow if ordinary people don\u2019t think their governments are delivering results to improve their economic conditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat does not mean that the majority of Americans are ready to walk away from a rules based order and that we\u2019re ready to walk away from our commitment to democracy,\u201d Ocasio-Cortez said.<\/p>\n
Ocasio-Cortez spoke on two panels Friday, one called \u201cVox Populi? Responding to the Rise of Populism\u201d and another titled \u201cBreaking (With) the Past: Seismic Shifts in U.S. Foreign Policy.\u201d<\/p>\n