Javier Milei and British Libertarian Discourse
A brief note of slight optimism.
Since the armed squabble over the rightfully British Falkland Islands in 1982, a few of the British have kept an idle interest in Argentine affairs. This principally entails being mildly entertained by the almost never-ending resentment from Argentina over its loss. However, when a man wielding sideburns and a chainsaw emerges almost from nowhere to become president, on a platform of abolishing half the government no less, it might be worth taking notice.
As rare as snowfall in Buenos Aires is the prospect of a genuine libertarian winning an election. By a genuine libertarian, I do not mean most of those who deem themselves or are popularly referred to as such in the United Kingdom. Libertarianism as a philosophy is far more serious than this collection of latter-day Thatcherites, jumped-up social liberals and unscrupulous libertines. It is also more insightful than the aforementioned groups, although I am no libertarian myself. Both the majority of supposed adherents and the opponents of libertarianism in this country engage in rather facile stereotypes of the ideology, but Argentina’s Javier Milei does not exactly conform. This is partly due to his eccentricity (to put it politely), but his background as an Austrian School economist has brought him into that intellectual tradition more than most self-styled British libertarians could reasonably claim of themselves.
If Milei succeeds in his agenda, libertarian discourse in Britain might be forced to improve beyond mainly producing soundbites about smoking regulations. This would be good, not least because it would prove to genuine conservatives (also in short supply) that there is potential merit in mutual intellectual conversation and collaboration. Indeed, certain permutations of libertarian thought can be quite illiberal, at least by modern liberal standards versus those of older strains, and closer to agreement with conservatism. Nevertheless, I am discussing an “if” about the size of the Tierra del Fuego. His success is not likely in my estimation, but I suppose this sliver of optimism is better than nothing.