Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
A Green New Deal
A new generation of democratic socialism.
Progressive Democratic SocialistOne of 729 ideologies · enter the Democratic Socialist hall →- Role
- Congresswoman
- Era
- b. 1989
- Region
- United States
- Social band
- Progressive
- Placement
- −55 · +18 · +85
§ Where Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stands
3 axesOcasio-Cortez wants a much larger public role in the American economy. She floated a top income-tax rate of up to 70 per cent on income above $10 million in January 2019, introduced the Green New Deal resolution with Senator Ed Markey the following month and backs Medicare for All, but she works within a market economy rather than calling for wholesale public ownership.
She works within democratic institutions, from party primaries to congressional hearings, while pressing for an expanded federal government through national programmes such as the Green New Deal. Her 2018 campaign's call to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement and her criticism of aggressive policing show a civil-libertarian streak, which keeps her only slightly toward the state end.
Ocasio-Cortez is strongly progressive across climate, race, gender and immigration. She supports abortion rights and LGBTQ equality, framed the 2019 Green New Deal as a programme of racial and economic justice as well as climate policy, and made the treatment of migrants a signature cause, condemning conditions she saw at border detention facilities in Texas in 2019.
How close are you to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez?
Three statements, one per axis. Answer them and we’ll drop you on the compass next to them.
§ The story
LivingAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez (b. 1989) is a Democratic member of the US House of Representatives for New York's 14th district, covering parts of the Bronx and Queens, first elected in 2018. Born in the Bronx to a Puerto Rican family and raised partly in Westchester County, she studied economics and international relations at Boston University, worked as a bartender and educator, and organised for Bernie Sanders's 2016 presidential campaign before running for Congress as a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.
In June 2018 she defeated Joe Crowley, a ten-term incumbent and senior House Democrat, in a primary upset, and that November became, at 29, the youngest woman elected to Congress up to that time. Her advocacy of a Green New Deal, Medicare for All and higher taxes on top incomes made her the most prominent face of a revived democratic socialist current in American politics, and with three other first-term progressive congresswomen she became known as the Squad. She was re-elected in 2020, 2022 and 2024, while Republican critics cast her agenda as unaffordable and radical.
Notable for
- 01Green New Deal resolution
- 02Insurgent 2018 primary win
- 03Voice of the DSA generation
Key works & moments
- 2016Organises for Bernie Sanders's presidential primary campaign.
- 2018Defeats ten-term incumbent Joe Crowley in the Democratic primary for New York's 14th district.
- 2018Wins the general election at 29, then the youngest woman ever elected to Congress.
- 2019Floats a top income-tax rate of up to 70 per cent on income above $10 million.
- 2019Introduces the Green New Deal resolution with Senator Ed Markey.
§ Minds closest to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
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§ Also in the Democratic Socialist hall
Enter the hall →§ Common questions
4 answersWhat is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's political ideology?
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez describes herself as a democratic socialist: on the 99ideologies three-axis compass, a Progressive Democratic Socialist. Economically she sits left of centre (−55), backing a Green New Deal, Medicare for All and higher taxes on the very rich within a market economy. On governance she leans only slightly toward the state (+18), seeking a larger federal role through elections and legislation. Socially she is strongly progressive (+85), championing abortion rights, LGBTQ equality, racial justice and immigrants' rights.
Is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez left-wing or right-wing?
Left-wing. She belongs to the progressive wing of the Democratic Party and is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, and her signature proposals, the Green New Deal, Medicare for All and much higher top tax rates, sit well to the left of the party's centre. She nonetheless pursues them through Democratic primaries and congressional legislation rather than outside the two-party system, and her programme resembles European social democracy more than revolutionary socialism.
Is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a socialist?
She calls herself a democratic socialist and is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, so in that sense yes. Her actual platform, however, centres on expanding public provision and regulating markets rather than abolishing private ownership: universal public health insurance, a large public investment programme for clean energy and jobs, and higher taxes on the highest incomes. Commentators often compare it to Nordic-style social democracy, while opponents use the socialist label to portray it as radical.
Which minds are closest to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez?
On the 99ideologies three-axis compass, the minds closest to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are V (for Vendetta) (97% alike), Jeremy Corbyn (94% alike) and Michael Harrington (90% alike). The furthest is Adam Sutler (5% alike).