Portrait of Mario Vargas Llosa
Center-right · Artist or athlete · From history

Mario Vargas Llosa

Peruvian novelist, 1936 to 2025

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The Nobel-winning novelist moved from Marxism to a passionate defense of classical liberalism, and ran for president of Peru in 1990, losing to Alberto Fujimori.

Mario Vargas Llosa sits in the right-libertarian part of the Caucus economy and liberty compass: strongly free market and leaning libertarian. The clearest positions are strongly free market on economy, leaning libertarian on liberty and authority and leaning secular on religion. The profile is close to the middle on culture.

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Where Mario Vargas Llosa sits on ten dimensions

Each scale runs from one pole to the other, and the dot shows the overall tendency of this person's record and public life. These are simplified estimates and open to debate.

💰EconomyStrongly free market
State-ledFree market
⚖️Liberty and authorityLeaning libertarian
LibertarianAuthoritarian
🎭CultureCentered on culture
ProgressiveTraditional
🌍NationLeaning globalist
GlobalistNationalist
🌱EnvironmentLeaning growth-first
Growth-firstNature-first
🤖TechnologyLeaning tech-optimist
Tech-cautiousTech-optimist
🕊️War and peaceSlightly strength-first
Peace-firstStrength-first
🏛️InstitutionsSlightly institutional
Anti-establishmentInstitutional
🙏ReligionLeaning secular
SecularReligious
🛡️InterventionismSlightly interventionist
Non-interventionistInterventionist

People most like Mario Vargas Llosa

Ludwig von Mises Austrian economist, 1881 to 197398%Milton Friedman American economist, 1912 to 200698%Robert Nozick American philosopher, 1938 to 200297%Thomas Jefferson US President, 1801 to 180997%John Locke English philosopher, 1632 to 170497%Tyler Cowen American economist and blogger97%Friedrich Hayek Austrian-British economist and philosopher, 1899 to 199297%Bjørn Lomborg Danish author and policy analyst96%

People furthest from Mario Vargas Llosa

Ruhollah Khomeini Supreme Leader of Iran, 1979 to 198914%Mojtaba Khamenei Supreme Leader of Iran, 2026 to present14%Hibatullah Akhundzada Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, 2021 to present16%Benito Mussolini Prime Minister of Italy, 1922 to 194317%

Political views closest to Mario Vargas Llosa

Classical liberalismIndividual rights, limited government, free markets and the rule of law.98%NeoliberalismPromotes markets, privatization, deregulation and free trade as the route to prosperity.97%MinarchismLimits the state to a minimal "night-watchman" role of courts, police and defense.96%Austrian schoolAn economic tradition that stresses individual choice, sound money and skepticism about…96%

Read more about Mario Vargas Llosa

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Biographies of Mario Vargas LlosaBooks on classical liberalism

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Percentages show how close two profiles are across all ten dimensions. Including a person here is for study and comparison, not approval. Portrait: Bernard Gotfryd, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; see all photo credits.