Capitalist Monopolies and the Role of the State: Rothbard, Hayek, and Friedman in Milei’s The Libertarian Path

Abstract

This article examines the issue of monopolies and the role of the state in the works of neoliberal exponents Hayek, Rothbard, and Friedman, as well as their influence on Milei’s economic and political ideas. Within the framework of the critique of diminishing marginal returns and the theory of Pareto optimality, we find that Milei denies the historical fluctuations of capitalism, rejects market failures and monopoly pricing. In his view, the monopolist is in fact a “social benefactor,” since they would meet needs, drive technological improvements, and always provide higher-quality goods and services at lower prices. Therefore, the state can never intervene to regulate capitalist monopolies and oligopolies. Thus, through the process of discovery and voluntary cooperation among individuals, Milei arrives at Rothbard’s same mythical conclusions regarding optimal equilibrium and the supposed self-regulation of the market.