Javier Milei, economist and president of Argentina, is a complicated character whose background and views have deserved heated discussion. This article will look briefly at Milei as an Austrian economist — the question of his libertarianism was settled elsewhere. One further point before starting: This is an article about economic thought. An assessment of his policies will be touched only shortly in the closing remarks and hopefully in another article.Milei, Smith and development economicsWe shall begin, where Milei and most of the economics profession start in mainstream economic thought, with Adam Smith (1723-90). Milei celebrates Smith as the Gauss of economics, the “father” and “mother.” Milei’s praise of Smith comes from his treatment of the division of labor, which is key to Smith’s
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