Who makes up this forum? The world elites – business leaders, tech and banking executives, politicians, lobbyists, and activists of all kinds. These individuals not only wield the monopoly of state violence but go further, forming part of a dangerous public-private cartelization that grants them unimaginable positions of power, pulling the strings of governments, the military-industrial complex, and corporations. This is how they rule the course of humanity from the shadows.
In theory, their purpose is to “improve the state of the world,” when in reality, it is to “improve the World’s State.”
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Every year, they gather in Davos to present their proposals on how they plan to intervene in our lives. While we libertarians, considering ourselves their enemies, read indignantly their brazen statements behind our screens, and we impotently shake our fists against them, exclaiming “damn socialists!” and go back to our discussion forums.
Not this time.
A self-proclaimed anarcho-capitalist figure took the stage. We’re talking about probably the most popular president in the world today, Javier Milei. Even the WEF couldn’t resist having his presence, having the very same forum’s founder, Klaus Schwab, publicly condemned libertarian ideas in the past.
He began his speech by stating that the West is in danger, co-oped by socialist ideas. He pointed to “the main leaders of the free world” as responsible for applying incorrect ideas or well intentionally wanting to be part of a privileged caste. Over the years, the foundations of civilization have been obscured by a growing tangle of totalitarian delusions and false attributions that made us forget how we achieved this quality of life.
Based on this premise, he dedicated himself to putting back on the table the elements that define the West, starting with free-market capitalism, empirically explaining its benefits and its historic gradual eradication of poverty with blinding clarity.
He not only emphasized its utilitarian superiority but also highlighted its moral component. Citing Israel Kirzner to describe the market discovery process where entrepreneurs risk their capital to offer higher quality goods to the public at lower prices, and on a particular Randian note, he revendicated their social function before a public dedicated to condemning them.
He was especially clear about the political philosophy of libertarianism centered on the individual and even more about the errors of the neoclassical economic model, blamed as the responsible for the descending spiral into poverty fueled by ever-increasing interventions, at the best Hayekian style.
Perhaps one of the most poignant moments of his speech was when he lumped all collectivists together: fascists, Keynesians, Nazis, social democrats, populists, globalists, socialists, etc., in contrast to libertarians.
He even spent some minutes demystifying the “failures of the market,” knowingly that the WEF was founded precisely to “correct” such failures!
The entire WEF elite was hurt. In a scenario where year after year they preach about environmentalism, feminism, birth control, and greater government intervention in the economy, Milei glorified the role of human beings in nature, the importance of voluntary cooperation between man and woman, condemned abortion, and dismantled the neoclassical arguments for interventionism.
He concluded his words once again warning about the terrible consequences of these policies, positioning Argentinians as witnesses to his words. He invited all entrepreneurs and listeners worldwide to look to Argentina as a land of freedom and opportunities, a last bastion of the West, a vindication of the United Provinces of South America as a new home for the American spirit of liberty.
Since he showed intentions of entering politics, he was underestimated by the entire political caste despite his figure far exceeding that of anyone else. Being only a congressman, he was the most popular in the chamber for the public, even though his peers ignored him. The support he received from the people was disproportionate—even international media and people in other countries talked about him! His presidency became inevitable.
Today, that local scene is being replicated on the global stage. With such growing support worldwide, did the WEF think that by inviting him, they would intimidate an inexperienced president? Did they think that a potential poor performance on stage would burst the bubble, and people would abandon this popular figure? All they did was fuel the fire, and now, they have a bigger problem.
At this moment, Javier Milei’s speech video surpasses the rest of the speakers tenfold or more. Journalists from around the world, who cover the WEF year after year, claim to have never seen a reception similar to what the libertarian is experiencing.
This could mark a before and after in the political history of the world. There is still much to see from Javier Milei, but until this moment, we can call him the world leader of freedom ideas.
This article was originally published in Mises Institute
Augusto Bottari studies International Business at the Universidad Argentina de la Empresa (UADE). He works for the banking industry and owns the largest Libertarian bookstore in Argentina.