AOC Says ‘Capitalism is Not A Redeemable System,’ Offers ‘Alternative Ways of Doing Business’
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) sat down with Yahoo Finance’s Andy Serwer for the latest episode of his Influencers show.
During a discussion about capitalism, the full transcript of which was published Thursday, AOC explained why she believes that it is no longer the best system for the United States.
“To me, capitalism at its core, what we’re talking about when we talk about that is the absolute pursuit of profit at all human, environmental, and social cost,” she said.
She continued:
What we’re also discussing is the ability for a very small group of actual capitalists, and that is people who have so much money that their money makes money and they don’t have to work, and they can control industry, they can control our energy sources, they can control our labor, they can control massive markets, that they dictate and can capture governments, and they it can essentially have power over the many.
And to me, that is not a redeemable system for us to be able to participate in for the prosperity and peace for the vast majority of people.
AOC continued then to explain what she sees as viable alternatives to capitalism for the U.S.
“Well, I think at the end of the day, it is about who has control over the very core assets of production and society,” she began.
“Now, where we can transition to– and there are certain ideas where we’re talking about– for example, Elizabeth Warren has discussed workers being elected to the governing boards of companies,” she continued, adding, “And also, we’re here in the Bronx. I represent a community that has the largest concentration of worker cooperatives in– one of the largest concentrations in the world.”
“Now, these are all alternative ways of doing business. Free markets are not the same thing as capitalism,” the congresswoman continued, adding:
And you can have markets where businesses and ways of producing, trading, selling goods are really controlled, and not just controlled, but given more power to workers. People get a fair shake. Union jobs. Unionized workplaces. All of these are different steps and levels that we’re talking about in a more just economy.
AOC is a member of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), an organization that believes workers should control most of the levers of production. The DSA’s website notes that capitalism should be replaced with “democratic socialism, a system where ordinary people have a real voice in our workplaces, neighborhoods, and society.”
