Calling for taxing the super-rich and fighting climate change are signs that the person doing it wants to send political opponents to a gulag, exterminate millions and make the country starve, Fox News guest Ben Stein implied.

The breathtaking leap of logic from the conservative pundit and political commentator came during his appearance on Trish Regan Primetime on Fox Business on Tuesday, which he used to sink his metaphorical teeth into congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Twitter star and champion of progressive causes in the House.

Ocasio-Cortez, often dubbed AOC, advocates many policies popular among the American voters, but continuously fail to become law, like wealth tax, single-payer healthcare for all, higher living wages and fighting global climate change through a so-called New Green Deal. Critics argue that her suggestions are not feasible.

Here is Fox guest Ben Stein comparing Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez to Hitler, Stalin, and Mao.Mike Pence is scheduled to be on this show tomorrow.pic.twitter.com/yR9PG232Bc — John Whitehouse (@existentialfish) January 23, 2019

Stein, however, went somewhat further, saying that the representative, a self-described socialist democrat, poses a major threat to the very fabric of America’s capitalist society.

“We have a society in which there are an awful lot of people who have no idea that Stalin, Hitler, Mao Tse-Tung all came to power promising the same kinds of things that Ms. Ocasio-Cortez is promising,” Stein said. “And it led to mass murder, it led to dictatorship, it led to genocide. These promises are old promises and they invariably lead to bad things.”

He went on to sing the praises of capitalism, which he considers the best way for a society to thrive.

The promise of just saying to the people do what you can within the law to make your life better and your family’s life better – that system works extremely well. Capitalism is a system that allows people to make something of themselves instead of oppressing other people. It’s an incredibly good system. Making money is one of the most harmless things to do in all the world.

Stein made a parting shot on the Soviet Union, calling it “one most unequal societies there has ever been in the world.” For the record, the USSR was quite oppressive in terms of political rights and not very rich, but wealth inequality was not one of its problems. The top 10 percent of its population was getting about a quarter income share after World War II, according to some estimates, compared to 35 percent in the US at the same time.

The share grew rapidly to almost a half once Russia went capitalist. Incidentally, America’s rich are now too getting a bigger slice of the pie, which may explain why AOC and politicians with similar agendas are becoming increasingly popular in the US.

Stein may find some solace in the thought that AOC’s rise is reportedly as confusing for the establishment Democrats, who share his views on capitalism. The young legislator apparently irritates fellow lawmakers with her criticism of party members, skilled command of Twitter and support of other progressive politicians.

This, however, does not stop her from gaining more power in the House. According to a Politico report, AOC and several other progressive freshmen got spots on the House Oversight Committee – possibly to direct their energy against President Donald Trump.

AOC was earlier reported as slated to join the House Financial Services Committee, which oversees US banks and financial markets. Bankers must be thrilled about getting a socialist watchdog.

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