I wonder why the author thinks autarky is off the table for both Chile and Argentina. They both seem like massively resource-rich nations with a long history of access to tools the capability of growing their own technical base.
I don't know the case of Argentina, but with regards to Chile, you might be negatively surprised about the richness of natural resources. Besides copper, wine, fruit, wood and fish, Chile doesn't have any natural resources fit for export (at least to my knowledge). The biggest export product was - and still is, I believe - copper. But as I showed in the article, relying on one export product is dangerous and unstable. And the trade volume of the other export products seems insufficient to me for Chile to realise full autarky.
And how would a country achieve that if it lacks the natural resources to do so? Fruit and wine isn’t gonna make you independent. Countries like Chile need import. Hence they also need export, to maintain a positive trading balance. I guess they technically could become self-sufficient, if they really wanted to, but they would eventually start to lag behind other countries and probably end up like North Korea.
Trade is not autarky. If Chile cannot exist without trade then it will always be controlled by foreign powers. If the problem is put to the Chileans in that manner, perhaps some solutions will present themselves.
Maybe a trade union among Latin-American countries that would form an economic cooperative and perhaps geopolitical bloc would enable Chile to be mostly autarkic.
I wonder why the author thinks autarky is off the table for both Chile and Argentina. They both seem like massively resource-rich nations with a long history of access to tools the capability of growing their own technical base.
Hi, Thank you for your comment.
I don't know the case of Argentina, but with regards to Chile, you might be negatively surprised about the richness of natural resources. Besides copper, wine, fruit, wood and fish, Chile doesn't have any natural resources fit for export (at least to my knowledge). The biggest export product was - and still is, I believe - copper. But as I showed in the article, relying on one export product is dangerous and unstable. And the trade volume of the other export products seems insufficient to me for Chile to realise full autarky.
With kind regards,
Yaro
Autarky is economic independence. Export and international trade are not an important consideration.
And how would a country achieve that if it lacks the natural resources to do so? Fruit and wine isn’t gonna make you independent. Countries like Chile need import. Hence they also need export, to maintain a positive trading balance. I guess they technically could become self-sufficient, if they really wanted to, but they would eventually start to lag behind other countries and probably end up like North Korea.
Trade is not autarky. If Chile cannot exist without trade then it will always be controlled by foreign powers. If the problem is put to the Chileans in that manner, perhaps some solutions will present themselves.
Maybe a trade union among Latin-American countries that would form an economic cooperative and perhaps geopolitical bloc would enable Chile to be mostly autarkic.
If a country cannot produce essentials, it is simply an extension of whatever country is producing those essentials.