Alexandria Ocasio Cortez is generally considered to be one of the more radical members of Congress, but why is that? The things she advocates for are generally not beyond the boundaries of what is possible under the current political system. A great example of this is her stance on taxing the billionaire class. She advocates for a higher wealth tax, which has historical precedent in American politics. However, for this political assertion, she has been placed with the label “ radical”. Yet, in many ways, she fails to be what that word truly means.
Eat the Rich or Tax the Rich
Going back to the “tax the rich” example, a radical would say that the wealth tax is only fixing the symptom of what is ultimately the problem of wealth inequality inherent to capitalism. It is within this example that we see the true nature of “AOC”. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez is not a radical, because radicals tear down systems and remake them. She is a reformer cosplaying as a radical. She may advocate for a higher minimum wage, but she won’t critique why wages are given in the first place. AOC may critique individual racists, but she is not advocating for the downfall of white supremacy in America. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez is not a radical.
AOC Is Not a Radical
Put simply, a radical is someone who understands that the system they live in is inherently flawed, and works to destroy it while building a better one. A radical is a revolutionary. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez is not a revolutionary. She may stand in picket lines but she won’t fight to tear down the capitalist infrastructure that made the workers strike in the first place. This isn’t to say that her actions as a U.S. representative haven’t had a net positive on the material condition of Americans. However, historically the U.S. has always treated real radicals a certain way. AOC is not being treated this way.
Radical Sacrifice
More specifically, the moment Dr. King began to speak about economic injustice he was murdered. However, throughout his entire career as a political activist, he was hounded by the state. This is because Dr. King was a radical, and this meant that he advocated for the systematic destruction of white supremacy. The black panthers were radicals who advocated for the destruction of capitalism, patriarchy, and white supremacy.
Most of them were assassinated by the state. This is because true radicals are dangerous to the status quo. True radicals are threats to oppressive systems of power. Reform is not revolution and the state knows that as long as there are reasons to revolt, one must reformers as a distraction.
Temporary Crumbs
Ultimately, the United States of America is the core of every oppressive force in the world. Without people like AOC, people would consider revolutionary ideologies more often. However, if every future revolutionary was funneled into being a reformist, then there would be no revolution. This is the role that Bernie Sanders and the “squad” play.
Reformist ideology promises that with enough reforms, the oppressive systems of today can be reformed into the utopia of tomorrow. However, this is ahistorical specifically because reforms are always temporary. An example of this is the death of Roe V Wade.
Temporary Reforms
Reforms, like Roe v Wade, have been historically temporary. As long as the marginalized communities of America continue fighting for more crumbs, then those who have the bread only have to give more crumbs. The privileged communities of the world like the status quo and will stop at nothing to maintain the way it currently is even if it means that they have to allow people who want the world to be slightly different in certain spaces. This is because they would rather have slightly less privilege than no privileges at all. Reforms are temporary and fleeting. The American dream is dead. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez is not a radical.
Opinion by Kenneth Mazerat
Sources
NYMag: AOC Is Just a Regular Old Democrat Now by Freddie deBoer
WSWS: AOC backs US funding of Israeli missile defense by Patrick Martin
Luxemburg, R. (2021). Reform or revolution. Pathfinder.
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Prachatai’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
First Inset by Ståle Grut / NRKbeta Image Courtesy of Daniela Kantorova’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
