“I am a libertarian liberal. Philosophically, I am a market anarchist”.
This is how deputy Javier Milei defined himself in 2021, who surprised locals and strangers by comfortably winning the primary elections held on Sunday in Argentina and thus becoming the favorite for the presidential elections scheduled for next October 22.
He also expressed this position in “The Path of the Libertarian” (January 2022), a compilation of his texts and speeches where he explains the path that led him to perceive and calibrate the discontent of society with what he calls the political caste.
The candidate, a 52-year-old economist with a “rocker” style, has been attracting attention for years, thanks to his controversial -and often high-sounding- appearances on the most popular television programs in the southern country.
With phrases like “I come to kick these criminals out”, Milei began to win the support of the young and a disenchanted middle class and fed up with the inability of the traditional political forces to solve its main problems, among them, the galloping inflation.
And although his promises to “dynamit” the Central Bank, to put an end to “public works”, to cut subsidies and allow the carrying of firearms seem to be in line with what is expected of a libertarian, other announcements made for the controversial character give reason to doubt.
What is libertarianism?
Libertarianism is a philosophical current within politics that places “individual freedom as the supreme political value,” wrote David Boaz, former vice president of the CATO Institute, a US foundation that precisely seeks to promote this trend.
“A libertarian admits that people can justifiably be forced to do certain things, the most obvious being refraining from infringing on the freedom of others. However, a libertarian considers it unacceptable that anyone can be forced to serve others, even if it is for their own good ”, it is explained in the Philosophical Encyclopedia of Stanford University.
This current has its historical roots in the Enlightenment movement, which began in the mid-18th century and lasted until the early years of the 19th century in Europe.
It was at this time when thinkers like the French montesquieuEnglish John Locke or the scotch Adam Smith they began to develop theories and ideas that questioned the ancient -and then dominant- belief that a group of people could impose their wishes on other people, by inheritance or for religious reasons.
But as if questioning the role of monarchs and clergy were not enough, this current has also sought to limit the powers of democratic and representative governments.
“Libertarians believe that respect for individual liberty is the central requirement of justice.. They believe that human relationships should be based on mutual consent. Libertarians advocate a free society of cooperation, tolerance, and mutual respect,” said American philosopher Jason Brennan, in an article for the Austrian School of Economics and Liberty Ideas.
The foregoing makes it clear that this movement is suspicious of the State, considering it invasive and unnecessary. And they maintain that “some forms of order in society arise naturally and spontaneously, without central direction”, it is explained in the Encyclopedia Britannica.
For this reason, the libertarians ended up separating from the liberals, who assumed that a structure (government, laws, etc.) is necessary to settle conflicts and also to help resolve differences between people.
“I consider the State as an enemy; taxes are a drag on slavery. Liberalism was created to free people from the oppression of monarchs; in this case it would be the state“, Milei has declared, with which the Argentine does seem to be in tune with these basic postulates of libertarianism.
What does it mean to be a libertarian in practice?
By promoting the free market, defending private property and a small and limited state, libertarians have been placed on the right on the political spectrum.
However, other key elements of his ideology have ended up being assumed by forces on the left, and among them are the defense of individual freedom, especially in relation to sexual issues or drug use; and his pacifism.
However, sociologist Felipe Benites warned BBC Mundo that “libertarians do not accept the age-old political separation between left and right doctrines”.
And, at the center of everything, they place the freedom of each person.
“Libertarians have attempted to define the proper scope of individual liberty in terms of the notion of ownership in one’s own person, or self-ownership, which implies that each individual has the right to exclusive control of his choices, his actions and his bodyBoaz explained.
Milei has made it clear that the issue of drug use will not be his main concern if he becomes president in Argentina. “Drugging yourself is committing suicide in installments. If you want to get high, do whatever you wantBut don’t ask me to pay the bill,” he said.
The followers of this current also oppose armed conflictbecause “war brings death and destruction on a large scale, disrupts family and economic life and puts more power in the hands of the ruling class,” added the former vice president of the CATO Institute.
In the words of Benites, libertarianism “is a line of thought that abhors the unnecessary use of violence.”
Milei has shown to be in tune with this last principle. Proof of this is that she has harshly criticized the Malvinas war of 1982 and has assured that a government of hers will advocate dialogue, although she admitted that the task “she `s complicated”.
“If you want that one day [las islas] become part of Argentina again, it will involve a very, very long negotiation and where Argentina will have to be able to propose something interesting (…)
“You will have to sit down and talk to the United Kingdom and discuss this situation with those who live on the islands,” he said in an interview he gave in 2022 to an agency specializing in economic issues.
Libertarian or populist?
The main reason to doubt that Milei is a libertarian is your position on abortion.
“I am against abortion, because I believe in the life project of others. A woman can choose about her body, but what she has inside her womb is not her body.is another individual, “said the presidential candidate.
For this reason, the expert in political communication Carmen Beatriz Fernández considered that Milei does not have the label of libertarian, but others such as that of “neopopulist or authoritarian right-wing”.
“A classic libertarian is one who has liberal positions in the economic field, but also in what refers to personal and individual freedoms. I would not say that Milei is a classic libertarian, although he is a promoter of the economic ideas of the Austrian School, ”the professor at the University of Navarra (Spain) told BBC Mundo.
This vision is not shared by the political scientist Guillermo Tell Aveledo, who does consider that Milei is the “most organized” representative of this political trend.
“His criticisms on issues such as budgets and specific policies, both in his time as a commentator on television programs and now as a representative in Congress, have been directed at the size and action of the State, for which reason fits the profile of a libertarian”, affirmed the dean of the Faculty of Legal and Political Studies of the Metropolitan University of Caracas.
However, Aveledo admitted that the conservative positions of the controversial Argentine presidential candidate and other contradictions prevent him from being considered a “genuine libertarian.”
And, for this reason, he labeled him as “a paleolibertarian (conservative libertarian)” or an “anarcho-capitalist”; that is, someone who believes that society can be organized and function only with the market, without the need for the State.
“A Genuine Libertarian Defends the Abolition of the State and of the presidential position itself, but he is aspiring to that position”, pointed out the expert.
Benites, for his part, does see the presidential candidate quite well framed in this ideology.
“Javier Milei is an economist who thinks as a libertarian, articulates as a libertarian and his government program has a lot of libertarianism”he pointed out to BBC Mundo.
Regarding the accusations that mark Milei as a populist, Benites affirmed that populism can only be defined as such once it is established under a form of government (“when his action places him outside the limits of any institutional restriction, not before ”).
“For now, perhaps just perhaps, it could be said that his approach is demagogic. But who with real chances of victory can stop being one in these times of democracies besieged on all sides? ”, He warned.
If they take over the keys to the Casa Rosada in the presidential elections next October, it will be seen if Milei keeps his promises or not and, then, doubts will be cleared.
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See original article on BBC