Argentina’s Libertarian Experiment: A Real-World Trial

Commentators predicted mass suffering.
Headlines promised chaos.

As Javier Milei rose to power, I started observing something rare: my political ideology undergoing a real-world trial, not in a think tank or a debate hall, but in a country already brought to its knees by decades of bad policy.

To the uninitiated, what followed seemed unexpected.

After an initial and painful adjustment period — the kind most populations are unwilling to endure unless they are already in pain — Argentina’s economic indicators began moving in the opposite direction of what experts had promised.

Inflation slowed dramatically.
Poverty and extreme poverty began to fall.
Economic activity stabilized and then started to recover.

This was not because of new programs, larger budgets, or clever redistribution schemes. It happened because the single most destructive force in the Argentine economy — inflation — was finally being confronted at its root.

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The Trap Beneath “Compassion”

For decades, Argentina pursued the same strategy that many Western democracies are increasingly tempted by: price controls, subsidies, nationalized industries, capital restrictions, and expansive welfare systems — all justified in the name of protecting the poor.

The results were devastating.

Inflation devoured wages. Savings were wiped out. Investment fled. A country once among the wealthiest in the world watched half its population slide into poverty. Millions emigrated.

The system designed to help the poor ultimately trapped them.

And today, watching from the United States, it is hard not to notice how loudly the masses seem to be clamoring for the very same model — confident this time will be different.

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Agency Over Management

Milei did not flip a switch and “fix” Argentina overnight. This was not the kind of instant turnaround authoritarian governments sometimes manufacture through force or deception.

Instead, he did something far more controversial:
he reduced the state’s grip on daily life.

Subsidies were cut. Price controls rolled back. Markets were allowed to function. The government stepped aside, and people were given back agency over their own decisions.

That process is slower. Less theatrical. And far less comfortable in the short term.

But it is also how real, durable growth happens.

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A Slogan Turned on Its Head

Argentina is now doing something many were told was impossible.

Apparently, you can vote your way out of socialism.

This is not a victory lap. Structural problems remain. The experiment is ongoing. Some Argentines are still struggling, and no serious observer should deny the pain involved in transition.

But what is happening is real. The data are real. And the lesson is increasingly hard to ignore.

Cheers to Argentinians — and here’s hoping the way forward continues to improve.

MicG

Sources & Data
Argentina National Statistics Institute (INDEC): https://www.indec.gob.ar
Buenos Aires Herald — Poverty & inflation reporting: https://buenosairesherald.com
Reuters — Argentina economy & inflation coverage: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas
OECD Economic Outlook on Argentina (2025): https://www.oecd.org
Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA) Social Observatory: https://www.uca.edu.ar