From an economic point of view, autarky consists of an economic system oriented towards self-sufficiency or self-sufficiency. In other words, the economy aspires to produce all the resources it needs, minimizing foreign trade. It is also called a self-sufficient economy.
How do self-sufficient economies work?
Autarky is a system in which the economy tends to close and restrict international trade.
As a positive point, in this system there is no dependence on the outside (or the dependence is very small), so that, in theory, the autarkic economy is not affected excessively by external events, either political or economic.
However, an economy may not be able to produce all the goods it needs, or if it does, it may be much more expensive to produce certain goods than simply to buy them in other countries where they are abundant. In addition, any type of domestic production must be protected from abroad, through all kinds of restrictions and tariff charges.
The word autarky comes from the Greek, autárkeia. And, in a rather philosophical sense, it has positive connotations. Well, it implies greater freedom and less dependence on others. While there are no debts or prior commitments with anyone.
From this point of view, it is positive. However, by closing both products and foreign capital, it is also on the margin of the positive trends that exist outside the autarkic economic zone. Collaboration between countries also has its advantages, so these economies lose those advantages.
Furthermore, it seems that an autarkic economy is stronger because of its lack of dependency and because of its control over all kinds of materials existing on your soil. However, it is necessary to take into account the difficulty of being able to stock up on all kinds of goods and raw materials, and, in addition, that the supply is capable of covering all the existing needs in the economy and having a margin for which go producing.
As can be seen, this is complicated, and, at some point, it seems reasonable that the autarkic economy finds itself with some kind of shortage of raw materials and little room for maneuver to be able to satisfy the needs of its citizens.