Performing the economic man, governing inflation

Abstract

Images of Javier Milei shift between those that emphasize his exotic and extravagant character and those that take him to be another of the extreme far-right leaders that increasingly come to prominence in the global political order. The aim of this article is to question both images. Firstly, I situate Milei within Argentine political and cultural history, riddled with prophecies and charismatic figures and shaped by attempts to save the country from the risk of disintegration brought about by the constant loss of value of the national currency, persistent inflation, and repeated hyperinflationary experiences. Secondly, I show that Milei stands out in this contemporary panoply of the far-right precisely for performing the persona of the economist—a singular economic man that legitimizes himself as the one capable of unveiling the theoretical dilemma of Argentine inflation and proposing practical (albeit bitter) solutions to cure the nation of this purportedly mortal affliction. The article highlights the productivity of an ethnographic theory of inflation that explores the role of imaginaries surrounding economists and inflation in the formation of far-right political movements.