Autarky

The world says: “You have needs — satisfy them. You have as much right as the rich and the mighty. Don’t hesitate to satisfy your needs; indeed, expand your needs and demand more.” This is the worldly doctrine of today. And they believe that this is freedom. The result for the rich is isolation and suicide, for the poor, envy and murder.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

No need for fancy words. Put simply, autarky refers to the state where the country has no trade with any other country. It is a closed economy, and therefore there are no imports and no exports. The origin of the word is Greek, and means ‘self-sufficient’.

That’s it.

A country may wish to be in the state of autarky by its own choice, at least in certain sectors. For instance, some countries practiced autarky to some extent, which was more or less an attempt to empower the domestic industries, mainly by imposing tariffs on imports.

On the other hand, a country may be forced to an autarky situation. This may be as a result of sanctions or economic wars.   

Also watch

Further reading

Autarky: Fantasy or Reality?

The Economics of Autarky

Sciencedirect: Autarky

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