Allende’s first speech as president, in November 1970, exemplified the ‘romanticism’ Harberger believed blighted Chile’s economy. Allende urged his fellow Chileans to rebuild their country ‘according to our dreams’ – to rebuild a country in which ‘all children begin life equally, with equal medical care, education and nutrition’. His government sought to ameliorate existing inequalities in wealth and power by displacing the market as the key allocator of basic commodities. It significantly expanded spending on health, education and housing, distributed free powdered milk to young children, heavily subsidised public transport, mandated pay rises, introduced price controls, and established popular resorts (balnearios populares) devoted to socialised leisure.

Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market, loc. 317