Exorcising the Ghost of Juan Perón
On November 19, voters in Argentina faced one of the most important elections in their history. This was an election between classical liberal ideas of freedom and limited government, and the oppressive socialist ideas embraced by Peronism. Surprisingly, the anti-establishment underdog candidate, Javier Milei (above), won the presidential run-off with a landslide victory against Peronist Economy Minister Sergio Massa. This was a 12 per cent margin victory over Massa – 56 per cent versus 44 per cent.[1] There was an explosion of joy on the streets of Buenos Aires as news of the result were announced. Hundreds of thousands of people chanted his popular refrain against the leftist political class – “out with all of them”.[2]
“For me the state is an enemy, as are the politicians who live off it”, said Milei, who assured assured election rallies that he would take a chainsaw to government waste, ministries and woke policies.[3] His win demonstrates that even in a country plagued by a leftist political culture it is possible to successfully run an anti-establishment campaign based on cutting the size and scope of government and gather a large coalition of voters who are prepared to reward such boldness.[4]
Milei has been particularly popular among the youth who strongly support his classical liberal values.[5] To make it look even more promising, Milei has vowed to shutter the country’s “woke” ministry of gender diversity and to repeal abortion laws::[6]
When you construct on the basis of an incorrect moral principle, the result is filth. How can being able to kill other human beings be a right-gained? As a [classical] liberal, I believe in the unrestricted right to life based on the defence of life, liberty and property. I defend life and biology says that life begins with conception.[7]
What is more, the newly elected president refreshingly declares himself a climate change sceptic, someone who rejects the anti-human environmentalist cult of global warming. “I do not deny climate change. What I am saying is that there is a temperature cycle in the history of the Earth … Therefore, all those policies that blame humans for climate change are false”, Milei says.[8]
Above all, Javier Milei’s victory represents a historical change for an unhappy nation run by Peronists for more than 45 years.[9] He said: “Today, the reconstruction of Argentina begins. Today is a historic night for Argentina”.[10] In his first public statement, the newly elected President boldly stated:
Today begins the reconstruction of Argentina. Today begins the end of Argentina’s decline. The model of decadence has come to an end. Argentina will return to its place in the world that it should never have lost. We are going to work shoulder-to-shoulder with all the nations of the free world, to help build a better world. Our key words are limited government, respect of property rights and free trade.[11]
Around a century ago Argentina was one of the wealthiest countries in the world.[12] Indeed, in the early 1900s the country was ranked among the ten richest, ahead of France and Germany. In 1914, more than half of Buenos Aires’s population was actually foreign-born.[13] Argentina was a magnet for numerous European immigrants, who flocked to find work and a better quality of life.
And then Peronism came along.
The charismatic leader Juan Domingo Perón shunned the Argentine founding fathers who favoured classical liberalism and the free society.[14] “In his prime”, wrote The New York Times about Perón one day after he passed away, on July 1, 1974, “he squandered his talents and his support – stoking class war, provoking mob violence, jailing and silencing opponents and running a flourishing economy into the ground with extravagance and statism”.[15]
A former army general, Perón rose to power initially through a military coup in 1943 and was later democratically voted president in 1946. He governed Argentina three times, initially from 1946 to 1952, then 1952 to 1955. In 1955 he was finally removed from power, returning to government after more than 17 years in exile in Spain, from 1973 until his death in 1974.[16]
Perón was a military attaché in Italy in the 1930s where he was exposed to Benito Mussolini’s fascist ideology that would later strongly influence his presidencies. Perón viewed fascism as an efficient method of social control that would lead to wealth redistribution with economic interest being entirely subordinated to the interests of the State.[17] Another cornerstone of fascism incorporated by Perónism was the creation of state-owned industries either by establishing new ones or nationalizing existing foreign companies.[18]
Perón’s regime was deeply inspired in its early stages by National Socialism. According to the late Jacques Lambert, a French legal historian who was a member of the Faculty of Law at the University of Lyon, it is entirely fair to state that Perónism was directly inspired by National Socialism. “Its methods reflected the Nazi spirit as much as they reflected any Latin American tradition”, Lambert wrote.[19] As a result, in no other Latin American country was domination of the masses by the dictator and his party more complete, and “the benefits dispensed more arbitrarily and with greater disregard for economic conditions”.[20]
Perónism took (and retained) a brutal dictatorial character even after the defeat of National Socialism in World War II. However, when the military basis of Perón’s authority was gone, he directed his appeal to the masses by using demagogic methods of unequalled cynicism, turning Peronism into an unmatched political force that has not lost its power even to this very day.[21] Perón was a master in demagogic exploitation of the popular faith in the all-powerful president. Although in his time Argentinians was quite educated, his regime made skilful use of its faith in him. His wife Evita Perón also filled the role of the people’s personal protector, and it was her death that shook the regime.[22]
Perón’s national-socialism encouraged him to establish state-owned enterprises, which have been one of the main sources of public sector deficits generated outside of the government’s budget. His first presidency caused permanent changes in Argentine society that have been responsible for the entrenchment of inflation to this day. Since the beginning of Perón’s first presidency, state-run enterprises were overstaffed with political appointees who lacked the managerial skills and experience needed to make them profitable.[23] Losses in state-owned enterprises coupled with huge government expenditures in public works and welfare programs gave rise to ever-growing government deficits that were funded by Argentina’s central bank through the printing of money.[24] According to Eduardo Singerman, “Perón institucionalized fraud in Argentina as his government used the central bank, an institution created by law, to expand money supply, generate inflation, and thereby steal resources from the private sector of the economy”.[25]
Devaluations were another source of inflation during Perón’s first presidency.[26] The accumulated inflation rate over the first six year of his first presidency was 297.57%.[27] In just 10 years of his government, the peso went from 4.05 pesos per U.S. dollar to 36 pesos in 1955. The annual inflation rate jumped from 18.74% in 1946 to 50.21% in 1951. Whereas Argentina’s gold reserves ranked the world’s 6th in 1930, by December 1948 these reserves had already decreased from US$1 billon to US$ 258 million.[28]
The 1949 Peronist reform of the Constitution assigned to the state direct control over foreign trade, ownership of all minerals and energy resources, and ownership of public service enterprises. Moreover, the Argentine state acquired foreign-owned utilities via purchase or outright expropriation. Perón’s first wife, Evita (below with Peron), become the subject of reverence and idolatry. It was her death in July 1952 that shook the regime and led to its demise. Her image can still be seen today adorning the side of the Labor Ministry’s building in downtown Buenos Aires.[29]
As can be seen, Perón destroyed a great deal but did not rebuild anything. He managed to destroy one of the world’s most modern and prosperous economies. Argentina’s economy has been so ruined by Peronism that the condition of the nation’s workers and middle classes, formerly by far the best in Latin America, is now one of the worst. Four out of ten Argentinians currently live below the poverty line.[30] Still, the Argentine governments that succeeded one another after 1955, including this present one, have been unable to break the habit of resorting to Peronist statism and demagoguery.[31]
Perón died almost 50 years ago but his policies live on. He gained lasting popularity by jeopardizing forever the privileged position of Argentina among Latin American nations. Ironically, Peronism continues to play an important role in the nation’s landscape as it is estimated that roughly 40 per cent of the Argentine population feel they are Peronist.[32] “Peronism is part of the national DNA, it is part of Argentine identity. You cannot study Argentina without knowing that it’s a substantial part of our social, political and economic life”, says Argentine journalist Rodolfo Muchela.[33]
One of Perón’s lasting legacies in Argentina is the organisation of society into corporations with strong political power that only care about their own sectoral interests.[34] Since Perón’s days many of the nation’s corporations are entirely dependent on the state and reject any curtailment in public outlays that may adversely affect them.[35] According to Eduardo Singerman,
“Economic nationalism, the organization of the Argentine society into corporations with strong political power that are economically dependent on the state’s expenditures and subsidies, and a lack of an independent central bank are Perón’s legacies, which have fundamentally contributed to the embedment of inflation in Argentina since his first presidency. It is no surprise then that these legacies have been present during the Peronist governments of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner … and her late husband Nestor Kirchner … and that at a certain point inflation would strike again”.[36]
Alberto Fernández, the current president of Argentina, is an avowed Peronist. On March 22, 2021, he was elected by the national congress of the Peronist Party as the party’s new chairman.[37] He has very strong Peronist credentials, playing an important role in the government of Nestor Kirchner, who ruled over the nation from 2003 to 2007. Kirchner was a far-left Peronist who worked closely with other far-left presidents in Latin America, especially Lula da Silva in Brazil, Cuba’s Fidel Castro and Evo Morales in Bolivia. He also established a strong political alliance with Hugo Chávez, the ruination of Venezuela.
Fernández was appointed Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers by Kirchner upon taking office on 25 May 2003. He retained the same post under Kirshner’s wife and successor, Cristina Kirshner, upon her election in 2007. Christina continued the lavish social spending and nationalization policies initiated by the first Kirchner government.
As a consequence, by early 2008 the country was facing a US$23 billion public-debt burden and an inflation of around 25 per cent that took a major toll on the Argentine poor. Both Kirchner governments, writes Jaim Daremblum, “spent like drunken sailors and made unsustainable commitments to the public sector. Such irresponsible fiscal policies fuelled rampant inflation, which Buenos Aires tried to camouflage by doctoring the official statistics”.[38]
In October 2019, Alberto Fernández won the presidential election with the Peronist Party, having Ms Kirchner as his vice-president. Last December she was convicted in a US$ 1 billion fraud case. Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro refused to attend Fernández’s inauguration due to irreconcilable ideological differences.
Peronism still connects and integrates with a variety of social movements and organisations – from labor unions, student associations, and now even active LGBTQI+ groups.[39] Argentina became the first country in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriage in 2010. It was the second country in the Americas to do so, and the tenth in the world.
Under the Fernández administration, Argentina became one of the first countries in the world to legally recognise non-binary gender on all official documentation. According to Culture Trip, “laws regarding the treatment of LGBTQ people have resulted in a culture of acceptance and celebration”.[40]
On September 4, 2020, President Fernández signed Decree No. 721/2020, establishing that at least 1% of all public sector workers in the national government must be transgender. On 20 July 2021, he also signed Decree No. 476/2021, which mandates the National Registry of Persons (RENAPER) to allow a third gender option for all national identity cards and passports.
Unfortunately, the “progressive” politics of President Fernández can be fairly regarded as a complete disaster. The country’s annual inflation rate hit 90 per cent by the end of last year – the highest level in three decades — and has since soared to 140 per cent.[41]
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Argentine government announced a country-wide lockdown which started in March 2020 and kept the nation captive for more than 12 months. This included restrictive measures such as travel, transport and citizen-movement restrictions, stay-at-home orders, store closures and reduced operating hours.[42] Coupled with fiscally irresponsible policies, such lockdowns caused at least 40 per cent of the population to drop below the poverty line.[43] It led to the entire collapse of every sector of the Argentine economy, with finance, commerce, manufacturing industry and mining being the most seriously affected. Only Melbourne under Premier Dan Andrews was more ardent in stripping residents of their lliberties.
However, the Fernández government kept spending far more than it took in, and the government-controlled central bank contributed to an unstoppable fiscal deficit by printing more money and making inflation worse.[44]
But now voters in Argentina have finally elected a classical liberal as president. The Argentine people appear to have learned their lesson and have made a conscious decision to rebuild a society based on the classical liberal values of their founding fathers. Milei is expected to take office on December 10. Undoubtedly, he has an incredibly difficult road ahead of him. “In a country where only 6 million people work in the private sector and pay taxes to maintain 20 million public workers and pensioners, Milei has a long way to go”,[45] says Javier Perez-Saavedra, a FEE’s Product Development Director.
According to the Index of Economic Freedom, Argentina ranks 144 out of 176; while in the Trade Barrier Index Argentina ranks 80 out of 88 countries analysed and ranks 95 out of 125 in the International Property Rights Index.[46] Moreover, the country’s highly fragmented Congress may force him to temper some of his more classical liberal proposals.
Be that as it may, Milei’s impressive win marks the first time in four decades that someone outside the illiberal ruling class in Argentina finally broke through the entrenched statist apparatus. “For us it is a huge hope and big change for Argentina. For 20 years, the only thing that has increased in the country is the number of poor people and regulations. Now we are going to have a government that gives freedom and initiative to citizens”, says Santiago Santuro, the newly elected Congressman from La Libertad Avanza’s Milei’s Party”.[47]
According to Lorenzo Montanari, who is vice-president of the Washington DC-based Americans for Tax Reform, “this historical victory could be the last tango for the Peronists in Argentina during the 2023 elections. A new libertarian narrative was introduced, in this presidential election, that reshaped the political spectrum forever, in favour of freedom and minimal state intervention, low taxation, free market, free-trade, de-regulation and respect for property rights”.[48]
Argentina now has a new and promising anti-establishment leadership. Let us hope Milei’s classical liberal ideas play out and bear much fruit. For this to happen, of course, Argentina must shift from statism to personal freedom and its people must appreciate the entrepreneurial spirit that creates a society of free and responsible individuals. If the people of Argentina embrace these ideas and commit themselves to exorcise the ghost of Peronism, they will have a brilliant future.
Javier Milei is the perfect person to ensure that, under his ambitious leadership, “Argentina will return to the place in the world which it should never have lost”.[49] He is about to embark on a heroic fight against the status quo and the next four years will show if he can do it.
Augusto Zimmermann is professor and Head of Law at Sheridan Institute of Higher Education, in Perth, Western Australia. He is a former Associate Dean of Law (Research) at Murdoch University. During his time at Murdoch University, Dr Zimmermann was awarded the University’s Vice Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research in 2012. He is also a former Law Reform Commissioner with the Law Reform Commission of Western Australia (2012-2017).
[1] Lorenzo Montanari, ‘Javier Milei And The New Libertarian Revolution in Argentina’, Forbes, 20 November 2023.
[2] Nicolás Misculin, Lucinda Elliot and Walter Bianchi, ‘Argentine libertarian Milei pledges new political era after election win’, Reuters, 20 November 2023, at https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/argentina-readies-vote-likely-presidential-election-thriller-2023-11-19/
[3] ‘Javier Milei and his beliefs – in his own words’, Buenos Aires Times, 21 August 2023, at https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/argentina/javier-milei-and-his-beliefs-in-his-own-words.phtml
[4] Eric Boehm, ‘What American Conservatives Can Learn From Argentina’s Javier Milei’, Reason, 20 November 2023, at https://reason.com/2023/11/20/what-american-conservatives-can-learn-from-argentinas-javier-milei/
[5] ‘Javier Milei will be Argentina’s first libertarian president’, The Economist, 23 November 2023, at https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2023/11/23/javier-milei-will-be-argentinas-first-libertarian-president
[6] Ashifa Kassan and Josefina Salomon, ‘Ghosts from the past: fears of abortion setback after Milei wins in Argentina’, Guardian, 21 November 2023.
[7] ‘Javier Milei and his beliefs – in his own words’, Buenos Aires Times, 21 August 2023, at https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/argentina/javier-milei-and-his-beliefs-in-his-own-words.phtml
[8] Pascal Fletcher, ‘Argentina election: Javier Milei’s radical proposals face test of reality’, BBC, 27 November 2023, at https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-67509691
[9] Lorenzo Montanari, ‘Javier Milei And The New Libertarian Revolution in Argentina’, Forbes, 20 November 2023, at https://www.forbes.com/sites/lorenzomontanari/2023/11/20/javier-milei-and-the-new-libertarian-revolution-in-argentina/?sh=d27ef5f7990c
[10] Stephen Katte, ‘Argentina Elects Javier Milei as President, Economy Minister Concedes Defeat, The Epoch Times, 19 November 2023, at https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/argentina-elects-populist-javier-milei-as-president-5532407
[11] Lorenzo Montanari, ‘Javier Milei And The New Libertarian Revolution in Argentina’, Forbes, 20 November 2023, https://www.forbes.com/sites/lorenzomontanari/2023/11/20/javier-milei-and-the-new-libertarian-revolution-in-argentina/?sh=d27ef5f7990c
[12] Anusha Rathi, ‘Argentina’s Economic Crisis Never Went Away’, August 15, 2022, Foreign Policy, at https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/08/15/argentina-imf-debt-massa-Fernández/
[13] ‘The Tragedy Of Argentina: A Century Of Decline, The Economist, February 17, 2014, at https://www.economist.com/briefing/2014/02/17/a-century-of-decline
[14] Alejandro Chafuen, ‘Don’t Cry For Me, America: Comparing Argentina And The United States’, Forbes, May 15, 2013, at https://www.forbes.com/sites/alejandrochafuen/2013/05/15/dont-cry-for-me-america-comparing-argentina-and-the-united-states/?sh=4bf2784c7ac3
[15] ‘The Tragedy of Perón’, The New York Times, July 2, 1974, p. 34.
[16] ‘The Resilience of Perónism in Argentina’, TRT World, November 19, 2019, at https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/the-resilience-of-Perónism-in-argentina-31486
[17] Eduardo Singerman, ‘Perón’s Legacy: Inflation in Argentina, An Institutionalized Fraud’, Forbes, January 30, 2022, at https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2015/01/30/Peróns-legacy-inflation-in-argentina-and-an-institutionalized-fraud/?sh=d040ed75c772
[18] Eduardo Singerman, ‘Perón’s Legacy: Inflation in Argentina, An Institutionalized Fraud’, Forbes, January 30, 2022, at https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2015/01/30/Peróns-legacy-inflation-in-argentina-and-an-institutionalized-fraud/?sh=d040ed75c772
[19] Jacques Lambert, Latin American: Political Structures & Political Institutions (transl. Helen Katel, University of California Press, 1969), p 275.
[20] Jacques Lambert, Latin American: Political Structures & Political Institutions (transl. Helen Katel, University of California Press, 1969), p 209.
[21] Jacques Lambert, Latin American: Political Structures & Political Institutions (transl. Helen Katel, University of California Press, 1969), p 206.
[22] Jacques Lambert, Latin American: Political Structures & Political Institutions (transl. Helen Katel, University of California Press, 1969), p 360.
[23] Eduardo Singerman, ‘Perón’s Legacy: Inflation in Argentina, An Institutionalized Fraud’, Forbes, January 30, 2022, at https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2015/01/30/Peróns-legacy-inflation-in-argentina-and-an-institutionalized-fraud/?sh=d040ed75c772
[24] Eduardo Singerman, ‘Perón’s Legacy: Inflation in Argentina, An Institutionalized Fraud’, Forbes, January 30, 2022, at https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2015/01/30/Peróns-legacy-inflation-in-argentina-and-an-institutionalized-fraud/?sh=d040ed75c772
[25] Eduardo Singerman, ‘Perón’s Legacy: Inflation in Argentina, An Institutionalized Fraud’, Forbes, January 30, 2022, at https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2015/01/30/Peróns-legacy-inflation-in-argentina-and-an-institutionalized-fraud/?sh=d040ed75c772
[26] Eduardo Singerman, ‘Perón’s Legacy: Inflation in Argentina, An Institutionalized Fraud’, Forbes, January 30, 2022, at https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2015/01/30/Peróns-legacy-inflation-in-argentina-and-an-institutionalized-fraud/?sh=d040ed75c772
[27] Eduardo Singerman, ‘Perón’s Legacy: Inflation in Argentina, An Institutionalized Fraud’, Forbes, January 30, 2022, at https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2015/01/30/Peróns-legacy-inflation-in-argentina-and-an-institutionalized-fraud/?sh=d040ed75c772
[28] Eduardo Singerman, ‘Perón’s Legacy: Inflation in Argentina, An Institutionalized Fraud’, Forbes, January 30, 2022, at https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2015/01/30/Peróns-legacy-inflation-in-argentina-and-an-institutionalized-fraud/?sh=d040ed75c772
[29] Bala Chambers, ‘The Resilience of Perónism in Argentina’, TRT World, November 19, 2019, at https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/the-resilience-of-Perónism-in-argentina-31486
[30] Miguel Lo Bianco and Claudia Martini, ‘‘We get by day to day’: Argentina’s high poverty rate dips as pandemic eases’, Reuters, October 1, 2021, at https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/we-live-day-day-almost-half-argentines-shadow-poverty-2021-09-30/
[31] Jacques Lambert, Latin American: Political Structures & Political Institutions (transl. Helen Katel, University of California Press, 1969), p 209.
[32] Bala Chambers, ‘The Resilience of Perónism in Argentina’, TRT World, November 19, 2019, at https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/the-resilience-of-Perónism-in-argentina-31486
[33] Bala Chambers, ‘The Resilience of Perónism in Argentina’, TRT World, November 19, 2019, at https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/the-resilience-of-Perónism-in-argentina-31486
[34] Eduardo Singerman, ‘Perón’s Legacy: Inflation in Argentina, An Institutionalized Fraud’, Forbes, January 30, 2022, at https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2015/01/30/Peróns-legacy-inflation-in-argentina-and-an-institutionalized-fraud/?sh=d040ed75c772
[35] Eduardo Singerman, ‘Perón’s Legacy: Inflation in Argentina, An Institutionalized Fraud’, Forbes, January 30, 2022, at https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2015/01/30/Peróns-legacy-inflation-in-argentina-and-an-institutionalized-fraud/?sh=d040ed75c772
[36] Eduardo Singerman, ‘Perón’s Legacy: Inflation in Argentina, An Institutionalized Fraud’, Forbes, January 30, 2022, at https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2015/01/30/Peróns-legacy-inflation-in-argentina-and-an-institutionalized-fraud/?sh=d040ed75c772
[37] Cecilia Camarano, ‘Con un llamado a mantener la unidade, Alberto asumió la presidential del PJ’, Ámbito, Buenos Aires, 22 March 2021, at https://www.ambito.com/politica/alberto-Fernández/con-un-llamado-mantener-la-unidad-alberto-asumio-la-presidencia-del-pj-n5178351
[38] Jaime Daremblum, ‘Has Argentina Joined the Chávez Bloc?’ Hudson Institute – Centre for Latin American Studies, March 2011, pp 3-4.
[39] Bala Chambers, ‘The Resilience of Perónism in Argentina’, TRT World, November 19, 2019, at https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/the-resilience-of-Perónism-in-argentina-31486
[40] ‘A Look at the Progressive LGBTQ Rights in Argentina’, Culture Trip, 9 October 2018, at https://theculturetrip.com/south-america/argentina/articles/an-lgbtq-guide-to-living-in-argentina/
[41] Anusha Rathi, ‘Argentina’s Economic Crisis Never Went Away’, Foreign Policy, August 15, 2022, at https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/08/15/argentina-imf-debt-massa-Fernández/
[42] José Maria Costa, ‘Coronavirus: las 18 provincias que tendrán aislamientos de 14 días en algunas zonas’, La Nacion, Buenos Aires, 10 October 2020, https://www.lanacion.com.ar/sociedad/coronavirus-cuales-son-18-provincias-tendran-aislamientos-nid2475013/
[43] ‘Argentina’s Fernández faces inflation protests by party supporters’, TRT World, August 18, 2022, at https://www.trtworld.com/americas/argentina-s-Fernández-faces-inflation-protests-by-party-supporters-59875
[44] Anusha Rathi, ‘Argentina’s Economic Crisis Never Went Away’, Foreign Policy, August 15, 2022, at https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/08/15/argentina-imf-debt-massa-Fernández/
[45] Lorenzo Montanari, ‘Javier Milei And The New Libertarian Revolution in Argentina’, Forbes, 20 November 2023, at https://www.forbes.com/sites/lorenzomontanari/2023/11/20/javier-milei-and-the-new-libertarian-revolution-in-argentina/?sh=ae97db47990c
[46] Lorenzo Montanari, ‘Javier Milei And The New Libertarian Revolution in Argentina’, Forbes, 20 November 2023, at https://www.forbes.com/sites/lorenzomontanari/2023/11/20/javier-milei-and-the-new-libertarian-revolution-in-argentina/?sh=ae97db47990c
[47] Lorenzo Montanari, ‘Javier Milei And The New Libertarian Revolution in Argentina’, Forbes, 20 November 2023, at https://www.forbes.com/sites/lorenzomontanari/2023/11/20/javier-milei-and-the-new-libertarian-revolution-in-argentina/?sh=ae97db47990c
[48] Lorenzo Montanari, ‘Javier Milei And The New Libertarian Revolution in Argentina’, Forbes, 20 November 2023, at https://www.forbes.com/sites/lorenzomontanari/2023/11/20/javier-milei-and-the-new-libertarian-revolution-in-argentina/?sh=ae97db47990c
[49] Lorenzo Montanari, ‘Javier Milei And The New Libertarian Revolution in Argentina’, Forbes, 20 November 2023, at https://www.forbes.com/sites/lorenzomontanari/2023/11/20/javier-milei-and-the-new-libertarian-revolution-in-argentina/?sh=ae97db47990c
Many will disagree, but World War III is too great a risk to run by involving ourselves in a distant border conflict
Sep 25 2024
5 mins
To claim Aborigines have the world's oldest continuous culture is to misunderstand the meaning of culture, which continuously changes over time and location. For a culture not to change over time would be a reproach and certainly not a cause for celebration, for it would indicate that there had been no capacity to adapt. Clearly this has not been the case
Aug 20 2024
23 mins
A friend and longtime supporter of Quadrant, Clive James sent us a poem in 2010, which we published in our December issue. Like the Taronga Park Aquarium he recalls in its 'mocked-up sandstone cave' it's not to be forgotten
Aug 16 2024
2 mins