Argentina has been on the front pages of the world’s newspapers, with stories describing an economic and social crisis born of debt default and devaluation, unemployment and widespread poverty. The subplot is inevitably how a Latin American country that once seemed more like Europe developed all the maladies of its Southern neighbors: a state unable to guarantee public health and education; a growing gap between rich and poor; the disappearance of the middle class; and the decline of industrial capacity in favor of producing raw materials.