The United States Needs Its Own Javier Milei

Milei’s victory reiterates that liberty can win.

By Connor O’Keeffe, Mises Institute

On Sunday, the populist Austrolibertarian Javier Milei was elected president of Argentina. In the United States, the reaction ranged from concerned curiosity on the part of the political establishment to enthusiastic celebration across the populist Right—including, notably, some economic nationalists. Several renowned libertarians also brought attention to some of Milei’s many flaws, such as his views on geopolitics.

Milei’s libertarian skeptics make many good points. And odds are a man with a legislature stacked against him will not be able to address Argentina’s many problems without some political backup. But still, there is much to admire about Milei’s rise and plenty to learn from his campaign’s bold, spirited rhetoric. Because our country is also in desperate need of a similar course change.

Many Americans are in a tough spot right now. Eighty years of inflationist monetary policy has made life more expensive. And the heavy government involvement in many of the most important sectors—including healthcare, housing, education, and energy—has made it harder for younger Americans to afford the same lifestyles as previous generations.

Further, the Federal Reserve’s manipulation of interest rates has left the American people heavily in debt, low on savings, and forced to weather the recurring nightmare of the boom-bust cycle. Meanwhile, as Washington’s decades of foreign intervention predictably blow up in its face, politicians are calling on the American people to fork over an ever-increasing amount of money in the futile effort to sustain an unchecked global empire. All while, at home, the government remains unable or unwilling to protect the lives and property of millions of Americans.

We may not yet have a poverty rate over 40 percent or inflation north of 140 percent like Argentina, but we’re on a trajectory that leads straight to that kind of economic ruin. It doesn’t have to be this way. We know the way out.

That way involves dissolving the politicized monetary system and returning to a system of sound money—where prices and interest rates are determined by economic realities, not the whims of bureaucrats. That can only be achieved with a total abolishment of the cartelized banking system. Depoliticizing money and banking would put the American people back in control of their own money for the first time in over a century and bring an end to permanent inflation and ceaseless recessions.

We ought to end the disastrous policies, regulations, and departments that have constrained the supply of housing and energy and that have made education and healthcare services prohibitively expensive.

And, crucially, we need to put an end to Washington’s drive for a globe-spanning empire. The American people have been forced to fund coups, bombing campaigns, and full-on wars that have killed millions and made the world less stable. History is full of empires overextending themselves and collapsing. Let’s opt out of our own downfall.

Javier Milei has demonstrated, as Ron Paul did before, that it is possible to get millions of people to understand the necessity of radical liberty and to get them energized about it. And that’s important, because the political class is never going to give up any power unless a strong grassroots movement leaves them no choice.

Milei’s victory reiterates that liberty can win. But it requires strong, uncompromising voices that can speak to regular people about their most pressing problems and offer a compelling vision of a freer, safer, and wealthier future.

Author:

Connor O’Keeffe (@ConnorMOKeeffe) produces media and content at the Mises Institute. He has a master's in economics and a bachelor's in geology.

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For QTR’s take on Milei’s election you can read:

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