DALLAS Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose sudden rise to prominence has made her a target of Republicans and a sometime irritant to her party's leaders, called capitalism an "irredeemable" system that is to blame for income inequality.

The 29-year-old, first-term U.S. House member from New York and self-described democratic socialist addressed an enthusiastic crowd Saturday at the South by Southwest conference in Austin about issues that resonate with her fellow millennials, from universal health care to combating climate change.