Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York told the Munich Security Conference on Friday exactly why the world is seeing a rise in autocrat-friendly populism.
“I think one of the connections and relationships that is underdiscussed, particularly in the security space, is the fact that I believe we're seeing an economy … around the world—including in the United States—that extreme levels of income inequality lead to social instability and drives in a sense in authoritarianism, right-wing populism, and very dangerous domestic internal politics,” she said. “And that is a direct outcome of not just income inequality, but the failure of democracies over decades to deliver. The failure to deliver higher wages, the failure to rein in corporations.”
Ocasio-Cortez noted that stark economic inequality fundamentally conflicts with the core tenets of democracy. She pointed to the growing consolidation of wealth and power into the hands of a few.
“There is a level of market concentration and corporate consolidation where a massive company can get so big that its consolidated power can rival that of nation states,” she said. “Massive corporations that then begin to consume the public sector gobble up the spending. They start to call the shots, and we're starting to see this with some of the billionaire class throwing their weight around in domestic politics and in global politics as well.”
Ocasio-Cortez remains one of the shining lights of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, consistently advocating a platform to address what most Americans believe to be a growing wealth-inequality crisis.
Walter Einenkel February 14, 2026 at 01:30AM From Daily Kos
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