USA 1776-1915 - Went from 3rd world to 1st world, fastest time ever, despite a civil war and many other challenges. India 1980-2000 - Not a libertarian country at all, but went from hard socialist to more moderate and doubled the average income of a billion people China 1990-2010 - Again not a "perfect" country, but by allowing capitalism, which is another way of saying reducing regulation, produced a massive economic boom and a massive increase in prosperity.

You're correct to recognize that it is a scale of grey. Historically, countries that are more libertarian (e.g.: economic and social freedom) have better outcomes than countries that are more authoritarian.