Autarky

Autarky is the characteristic of self-sufficiency, usually applied to societies, communities, states, and their economic systems.[1]

Autarky as an ideology or economic approach has been attempted by a range of political ideologies and movements, particularly leftist ones like African socialism, mutualism, war communism,[2] communalism, swadeshi, syndicalism (especially anarcho-syndicalism), and left-wing populism, generally in an effort to build alternative economic structures or to control resources against structures a particular movement views as hostile. Conservative, centrist and nationalist movements have also adopted autarky, generally on a more limited scale, to develop a particular industry, to gain independence from other national entities or to preserve part of an existing social order.

Proponents of autarky have argued for national self-sufficiency to reduce foreign economic, political and cultural influences, as well as to promote international peace.[3] Economists are generally supportive of free trade.[4] There is a broad consensus among economists that protectionism has a negative effect on economic growth and economic welfare, while free trade and the reduction of trade barriers has a positive effect on economic growth[5] and economic stability.[6]

Autarky may be a policy of a state or some other type of entity when it seeks to be self-sufficient as a whole, but it also can be limited to a narrow field such as possession of a key raw material. Some countries have a policy of autarky with respect to foodstuffs (as South Korea), and water for national-security reasons.[7] Autarky can result from economic isolation or from external circumstances in which a state or other entity reverts to localized production when it lacks currency or excess production to trade with the outside world.[8][9]

  1. ^ "International Economics Glossary: C". www-personal.umich.edu. Archived from the original on December 12, 2007.
  2. ^ Van Oudenaren, John (1991). "7: Economics". Détente in Europe: The Soviet Union and the West Since 1953. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. p. 255. ISBN 978-0822311416. Retrieved 28 March 2019. After veering toward autarky under war communism, in the 1920s the Soviet authorities began restoring business relations with traditional partners.
  3. ^ Helleiner, Eric (2021-01-05). "The Return of National Self-Sufficiency. Excavating Autarkic Thought in a De-Globalizing Era". International Studies Review. 23 (3): 933–957. doi:10.1093/isr/viaa092. ISSN 1521-9488.
  4. ^ Krueger, Anne O. (2020). International Trade: What Everyone Needs to Know. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/wentk/9780190900465.001.0001. ISBN 978-0190900465.
  5. ^ * "Free Trade". IGM Forum. March 13, 2012. Archived from the original on November 18, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  6. ^ Tenreyro, Silvana; Lisicky, Milan; Koren, Miklós; Caselli, Francesco (2019). "Diversification Through Trade" (PDF). The Quarterly Journal of Economics. 135: 449–502. doi:10.1093/qje/qjz028. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-01-22. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
  7. ^ "Sumner_Panel_ST1" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-01-20. Retrieved 2014-01-18.
  8. ^ Mansfield, Edward D.; Pollins, Brian M., eds. (2009). "Computer Simulations of International Trade and Conflict". Economic Interdependence and International Conflict: New Perspectives on an Enduring Debate: 333. ISBN 978-0472022939.
  9. ^ Judt, Tony (2011). Socialism in Provence, 1871–1914. NYU Press. p. 263. ISBN 978-0814743553.