AUTARKY: ORIGIN, CHARACTERISTICS AND EXAMPLES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The autarky is a kind of political or economic system that seeks total isolation from the environment. For this, they must be self-sustaining and provide themselves with all the production goods and basic needs of their inhabitants. They have been linked, as in fact has been the historical experience, with totalitarian and dictatorial governments.

However, reaching the pure autarkic state is considered a utopia. The current cases in the world are few, but there are trends that point towards autarky in recent times. The nationalist and anti-globalization movements go along this line.

Origin

Etymologically, the word autarky means "self-sufficiency." Although historical experiences show that the outcomes of these models today are often tragic, in ancient times the term was associated with a certain virtue.

The latter is associated with the fact that the straight path of the wise man should be that of self-sustaining and being sufficient with himself to achieve fulfillment and happiness. So, this path was associated with people whose ultimate goal was spiritual achievement.

The autarky had its origin in ancient philosophical ideas. This concept has some religious implications; the experiences of hermits and hermits point to a life withdrawn and isolated from the social environment.

Philosophical schools such as the Cynic, the Epicurean, the Cyrenaic, and the Stoic sought the realization of the sage in a self-sustaining way. This implied the non-dependence on external elements of the world to achieve happiness.

Eastern approach

This was so not only in the West. The mystical-philosophical experiences in the East also pointed to this in the sense that the realization of the wise saint was based on himself, beyond the world.

Mythical cases abound in this regard. For example, the legend of Bodhidharma holds that he spent 9 years in a cave until he finally reached enlightenment; remember that this monk was the one who brought Buddhism to China.

Obviously, in that trance Bodhidharma was self-sustaining, and even preserved from bandit attacks because he developed Kung Fu.

Returning to the West, it was not all about hermit isolation. In many cases, as with the Cynical or Cyrenaic schools, the important thing was to be imperturbable in front of the world. In this way, the position had a more philosophical connotation.

However, these autarkic practices required an effort so that the sage or the aspirant to be one could flow in the future without the worldly conditioning.

characteristics

The autarchies referring to groups, countries or economies arise from a philosophical ideal linked to the virtue of the sage in terms of self-sufficiency.

In some cases, autarchies begin with the objective of protecting a country's workforce or domestic producers. However, the outcome of such experiences is often associated with widespread shortages and even famines.

The autarchies are systems opposed to globalization and democracy; the only way to apply it is through authoritarianism.

Today's world is always susceptible to falling into the mirage of the autarkic oasis. However, it is always important to keep historical experiences in mind so as not to repeat past mistakes.

The autarchies have certain common characteristics. These are usually utopian models that could sometimes have a good underlying intention; however, in most cases they end up restricting individual freedoms.

Dictatorial framework

For an autarkic system to work it must be framed in dictatorial or totalitarian schemes, even if the objective of autarky is solely economic.

Raw Materials

For there to be the possibility of its success in the economic order, the nation or group that practices it must have access to the raw materials necessary for the proper functioning of society.

For example, in the case of Spain, the practice of autarky would entail dispensing with the use of cars, and in general any activity that requires petroleum derivatives. That is why it is said that autarkic experiences usually bring great hardships for the population.

In an autarky, the economy is closed to the outside world and it is the State that regulates prices and any economic activity, including the mobility of workers.

However, what starts with the idea of ​​keeping prices within a range ends up spiraling out of control. The dynamics of any economy show that price controls lead to shortages, the black market or hyperinflation.

Short or long

Autarchies can occur for short or long periods of time. In the case of being for short periods, this may be motivated by a war situation or by a natural disaster.

In summary, the following characteristics can be mentioned as typical of autarchies:

- Trade with the exterior is limited, so that imports are suppressed.

- Tight price controls are established.

- The government model is authoritarian or totalitarian.

- The mobility of citizens is prohibited.

- There is usually a shortage.

- The system collaterally favors the appearance of the black market and the corruption of government officials.

Examples

The utopian ideal of autarky has reemerged with great force in recent times. Even today Anabaptist groups such as the Hutterites or the Amish, originating in the 16th century, live in a communal state and seek to sustain themselves.

One point to note in the case of these groups is that they possess the cultural and economic characteristics that they possessed in their origins. In some way, the framework that contains them is religious in nature, so totalitarianism of a political or military nature does not prevail, as in other autarchies.

However, the 20th century - specifically the situations generated around international communism and the Second World War - gave rise to strong autarchies.

These were the cases of the Soviet Union, China, Nazism and Francoism. Additionally, North Korea is an autarky at the present time.

Nazism

The case of Nazism ended up being a deadly experience. The consequences it left were not limited only to the German people, but also to other peoples.

Initially Nazism sought self-sufficiency. This was done by trying to avoid the situations that were presented to Germany during the First World War, when it was subject to blockades.

Additionally, in its quest for world domination, the Nazi plan required guaranteeing self-sustainability in order to overcome the tribulations of a long-term war. This necessarily required appropriating territories from which to draw the resources that Germany did not possess.

In the early days, such economic closure and the start-up of industries produced a certain economic activation. With this, Germany sought to synthetically produce resources that it naturally did not have.

This activation ended up being a complete mirage, and later, due to the vicissitudes of war and the economic dynamics of the autarchies, great shortages occurred.

China

The case of China was emblematic due to the famine that occurred as a result of the totalitarian communist system. This system had the characteristics of an extreme autarky.

The so-called Great Chinese Famine took place between 1958 and 1961, and was the consequence of a model oriented towards autarky. Likewise, communes were established and private initiative was abolished.

The official version of this tragedy was called "Three years of natural disasters." Here is another feature that usually accompanies this type of system: the official simulation.

It was precisely China's opening to the globalized and free market model that allowed it to become an economic power. This was due to the rapprochement between Richard Nixon and Mao Tse Tung in 1972.

Soviet bloc

The countries that were part of the Soviet sphere experienced the hardships of economies of an autarkic nature. This was referred to the regulation of all facets of economic processes, of social and even intimate life, as well as commercial exchange with the exterior.

There were then severe shortages whose most common symptom is empty shelves. Likewise, the long lines to buy products necessary for subsistence, such as bread, were quite common.

Additionally, the isolation from the outside world from a cultural point of view was quite pronounced. The proliferation of the black market and corruption was also a constant.

The final collapse of the Soviet bloc occurred towards the end of the eighties of the last century. A historical event that identified such an event was the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Francoism

The dictatorship of Francisco Franco also walked the path of autarky. This was partly due to the fact that Spain needed to find a way to function as a nation despite the blockade it was subjected to by nations that were enemies during World War II.

This situation led to a great famine. Consumption levels were even lower for some products than during the Civil War itself.

North Korea

Currently North Korea is the great autarky. This country has been ruled for decades by the Kim dynasty; he is completely isolated from the outside world.

In North Korea, the mass of the population does not have access to the Internet, so they do not know what the rest of the planet is culturally like. The average weight of the inhabitants is considerably less than the average of any other country.

In the wake of the summit between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump on June 12, 2018, some hope emerged for an opening.

References

1. Hunter, R., & Ryan, L. (1998). From Autarchy to Market: Polish Economics and Politics, 1945-1995. Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood Publishing Group.
2. Arco Blanco, M. (2006). "Die of hunger": autarky, scarcity and disease in the Spain of the first Franco regime. Past and Memory, 241-258.
3. Barciela, C. (2003). Autarchy and black market: the economic failure of the first fraquism, 1939-1959. Barcelona: Criticism.
4. Belloc, M., & Bowles, S. (2013). Cultural-Institutional Persistence under Autarchy, International Trade, and FactorMobility. Santa Fe: Santa Fe Institute.
5. Schweitzer, A. (1945). The Role of Foreign Trade in the Nazi War Economy. Arthur Schweitzer, 343-377.