From Javier Milei to Geert Wilders: How liberals malign conservative leaders

Once upon a time, there were Leftists and Rightists—and liberals crawling Leftwards. In this postmodern day, there are Leftists but no Rightists; there are only politicians and intellectuals representing the ‘far-Right.’ Like Argentina’s President-elect Javier Milei, ‘a far-Right leader.’ The description, ‘far-Right,’ suggests a person who is extreme in their views and actions if not downright beyond the pale, a person who cannot be accepted in civilised circles, a person representing lunatic fringe. Earlier too, Rightwing politicians were lambasted and lampooned by the mainstream media and intellectuals. For instance, the legendary cartoonist RK Laxman portrayed the affable Ronald Reagan as a trigger happy cowboy in cartoons in the 1980s. But things are much worse now for conservative leaders. Since liberals dominate the mainstream media and other opinion-making apparatuses, it is easy for them to malign and belittle any person they don’t agree with. Anyone who deviates from their narrative and agenda is viciously maligned and belittled, be it Donald Trump, Narendra Modi, or Milei. So, unsurprisingly, Milei has been trashed as a “Rightwing reactionary,” “free-market fundamentalist,” “nutcase,” etc. There is a lot more focus on his unconventional looks, remarks (which are sometimes vituperative), and campaign (Milei appearing with a chainsaw, a promise to cut down the size of government) than on his message—which is promising and realistic in a country bedeviled by three-digit inflation, heavy state spending, and other afflictions associated with socialism. In reality, he is a libertarian; this is evident from most of his stated positions, from his antipathy towards socialism to oversized government. Encyclopedia Britannica defines ‘libertarianism’ as a “political philosophy that takes individual liberty to be the primary political value. It may be understood as a form of liberalism, classical liberalism in particular, the political philosophy associated with the English philosophers John Locke and John Stuart Mill, the Scottish economist Adam Smith, and the American statesman Thomas Jefferson. Liberalism seeks to define and justify the legitimate powers of government in terms of certain natural or God-given individual rights. These rights include the rights to life, liberty, private property, freedom of speech and association, freedom of worship, government by consent, equality under the law, and moral autonomy.” One would expect liberals to be the supporters of Milei, for he espouses the principles of classical liberalism. But, unfortunately, they have practically given up all commitment to liberty and other Enlightenment ideals. Locke, Mill, Smith and Jefferson would be shocked to know the views of contemporary liberals, for their views are indistinguishable from those of Leftists. This explains liberals’ ire against Milei. This is despite the fact that 53-year-old Milei is most suitable for the job. Before entering the public spotlight, Milei was chief economist at Corporación America, one of Argentina’s largest business conglomerates that, among other things, runs most of the country’s airports, a news agency reported. He worked there until 2021, when he won his seat as a lawmaker. Also, Milei knows what he is saying and what he wants to do. For, though Argentina’s per capita income is almost six times more than India’s, its economy is in a mess, with inflation around 150 per cent, the currency constantly deteriorating, and a bankrupt government. His prescription for South America’s second-largest economy makes a lot of sense. He favors drastic measures to check high inflation like disbanding the central bank and dollarization of the economy. He has rightly pointed out that the soaring prices are the result of politicians’ predilection to print money. He wants to do away with socialism by making labor laws more flexible and downsizing government; the latter would include shutting down half of the government ministries. Milei doesn’t just stand for Right-leaning economic policies; he is also a culture warrior, taking on the marauding, pinkish intellectual and cultural elites. He is against abortion. He is also opposed to contemporary feminism, which is essentially a counter-Enlightenment ideology promoted by anti-West and anti-capitalism fanatics. What angers Leftists and liberals is that Milei is an admirer of Donald Trump. Echoing the former US president’s slogan ‘Make America Great Again,’ Milei said at his victory rally, “Argentina is going to reclaim the place in the world that it should never have lost.” His followers often wear hats bearing the words ‘Make Argentina Great Again.’ Milei is anti-China and pro-Israel. All this makes him a hated figure in the salons of opinion makers. By electing Milei, the people of Argentina have proved that they are perceptive and brave: perceptive because they have refused to be cheated by the promises and offerings of populist, freebie-peddling politicians; and brave because they have the courage to support a leader whose ideas and policies are rational. P.S.: These are bad days for Leftists and liberals. Even as they were recovering from the shock of Milei’s victory, news came that another ‘far-Right’ leader, Geert Wilders won the election in the Netherlands and is expected to become prime minister. The author is a freelance journalist.Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.