Those who remember “shock therapy” in the former Soviet bloc with horror will regard even a marginal move toward free-market policies with suspicion. The hard truth, though, is the shock therapy worked wonders. The countries that embraced radical free-market reforms in the 90s really are vastly better-off today as a result. Those that took a cautious, go-slow approach were stagnant by comparison.[x] The corollary of “In the long run, we’re all dead,” is that we’re all living in the long-run our predecessors chose for us. If Argentinians had voted for Chile’s free-market model back in the 80s when they were twice as rich as Chileans, their children would probably now be citizens of a First World country instead of a basket case.