Tesla CEO Elon Musk praised self-proclaimed ‘anarcho-capitalist’ Argentinian President Javier Milei on Thursday for supporting free markets and denouncing socialism as a ‘threat to the West’ at Davos during his maiden abroad visit.
Milei told the World Economic Forum (WEF) that socialism is a phenomenon that generates poverty. “Free enterprise capitalism is the only tool we have to end hunger and poverty,” he went on to say.
Javier Milei holds nothing back at the WEF
Argentina’s new president, Javier Milei, received much applause from conservatives after criticizing the global elite at this week’s World Economic Forum for abandoning capitalism in favor of a socialist program “that creates poverty.”
Javier Milei, a self-described anarcho-capitalist elected in November on a promise to cut Argentina’s bloated government spending, chastised CEOs and world leaders who have “abandoned the model of freedom for different versions of what we call collectivism” during his speech at the annual Davos gathering in Switzerland.
Musk has shown support for Javier Milei on social media before. Last December, he uploaded a video in which he stated that equality should never come before freedom, indicating that some prominent conservatives are keeping a careful eye on the future libertarian president.
Following Milei’s electoral victory in the presidential run-off on November 19, the Space X CEO stated, “Prosperity is about to come to Argentina.”
Today, I’m here to tell you that the Western world is in danger […] And it is in danger because those who are supposed to have to defend the values of the West are co-opted by a vision of the world that inexorably leads to socialism, and thereby to poverty.
Javier Milei
Milei, whose outspoken character has attracted comparisons to former President Donald Trump, railed against the perils of “collectivist experiments,” which he labeled the “root cause” of many of the world’s issues.
“Socialism is a phenomenon that creates poverty,” he added. He went on to say that “free enterprise capitalism is the only tool we have to end hunger and poverty.”
It is in danger because those who are supposed to defend the values of the Western world are co-opted by a worldview that inevitably leads to socialism and, consequently, to poverty and economic deprivation.
Javier Milei
What is a fair economic ground, as per Javier Milei?
Javier Milei, who became Argentina’s president in December 2023, cited his country’s economic suffering during the last century as a direct result of adopting collectivist ideologies:
When we embraced collectivism over the past 100 years, we saw how our citizens began to systematically impoverish themselves until they fell to the 140th position in the world.
Javier Milei
The economist went on to advocate for free market capitalism as a solution to global economic prosperity, claiming that capitalism had brought the contemporary world to its most wealthy period in history.
Today’s world is freer, richer, more peaceful, and more prosperous than ever before. This is true for everyone, but particularly for those countries that are free where they respect economic freedom and individual property rights.
Javier Milei
Milei’s economic policies have also received preliminary support from the IMF, whose technical staff approved a fund transfer to Argentina last week and whose deputy managing director, Gita Gopinath, told media outlets that the new administration had “moved boldly to correct several of the misalignments that are there in the economy.”
According to the Argentine president, “free countries” are, on average, 12 times richer than oppressed ones. These countries have 25 times fewer poor people in the regular style and 50 times fewer in the severe format.
Milei emphasized libertarian ideas as the foundation for free market capitalism, citing Argentine professor Alberto Benegas Lynch’s concept of libertarianism, which is founded on the fundamental rights of life, liberty, and property.
The philosophy promotes private property, free markets without state intervention, free competition, division of labor, and social collaboration, “where one can only be successful by serving others with better quality goods at a better price.”
The capitalist, the successful entrepreneur, is a social benefactor who contributes to the well-being of society as a whole. In short, a successful entrepreneur is a hero.
Javier Milei
World leaders, in addition to Elon Musk, were quick to shower support for Milei. Frank Fleming, a conservative kids’ show writer, posted: “Why can’t we get a guy like this in America? This is supposed to be our thing.”
Republican commentator Paul Szypula added, “Javier Milei drops truth bombs just like Trump… Gotta love it and what it means, at the very least, for the people of Argentina.”
