World Essay of the month

«Milei Era» or the revenge of freedom

3 reading minutes

écrit par Jonas Follonier · 15 October 2025 · 0 commentaire

«L’Ere Milei» ou la revanche de la liberté

Although Milei Era by economist Philipp Bagus sometimes lacks critical distance from its subject, this book has the great merit of placing the rise of the Argentine president in the most fundamental aspect of politics: the battle of ideas.

Is it possible to imagine an anarcho-capitalist at the head of a modern state? Argentina, the country that has long symbolized the chronic failure of Peronist populism, is now offering such a spectacle. Since his election to the presidency in December 2023, Javier Milei has unleashed passions. For some, he is a dangerous demagogue; for others, a prophet of freedom. With Milei Era. Argentina's new way, published this month, German economist Philipp Bagus, a leading figure in the Austrian school of economics, offers a key to understanding this unprecedented phenomenon.

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This book is neither a neutral biography nor a simple empathetic portrait: it's a politically committed account. Bagus admires Milei and worked closely with him, but in this essay he focuses on the ideas that brought him to power. The preface, written by Milei himself, sets the tone: «We won thanks to the ideas of freedom.» If the author's way of describing and defending these ideas is sometimes repetitive, even circular, this book has the merit of placing this recent event in the most fundamental aspect of politics: the battle of ideas.

From Keynesian to Libertarian

The book traces Milei's meteoric rise from economics professor and TV polemicist to head of state. Far from a conventional career path, Milei built his success on a radical critique of «the caste» (the public authorities) and on an outspoken program: abolition of the Central Bank, drastic downsizing of the state, uncompromising defense of private property. Rather than frightening the electorate, this frankness clearly appealed, particularly to young people.

The book's main contribution is to place Milei in an intellectual filiation. Milei, this false free electron, is heir to a specific liberal tradition: the Austrian school of Ludwig von Mises and Murray Rothbard. Bagus recounts how reading these authors transformed the Argentine economist from academic Keynesianism to libertarianism. More precisely, the author emphasizes that Milei is an anarcho-capitalist in conviction, i.e., he rejects the utility and legitimacy of the state, but a minarchist in practice, i.e., he strives to reduce the state to its minimal functions. This trajectory is presented as an ideological and existential conversion, which explains the almost religious energy with which Milei defends his convictions.

Open questions

Milei Era also captures the global dimension of the phenomenon: a president who quotes Friedrich Hayek at the World Economic Forum in Davos, who finds himself on the cover of the Time and awarded the Hayek Medal in Germany. However, the reader will regret the absence of any critical reflection on Milei's virulent style. Effective in the short term, will his rhetoric remain so in the long term?

And will his domestic actions bear fruit? Last month, after his party's defeat in regional elections in Buenos Aires, the Argentine president promised to speed up his reforms, having already achieved impressive results in the fight against inflation and poverty. However, he also announced budget increases for pensions, education and health in 2026.

Philosopher by training and journalist by profession, Jonas Follonier is the editor-in-chief of Regard Libre. Write to the author: jonas.follonier@leregardlibre.com.