[laverya]

97. Well, I guess the US is one of the countries best able to implement Autarky today, so let's give it a try!

Trade makes things more efficient. Trade gives access to resources not available otherwise. Trade allows greater economies of scale, and production efficiencies via comparative advantage.

Trade is also not fundamentally necessary for the US in the way it is for essentially every other country on the planet, because the US is large enough, diverse enough, and resource rich enough to (with a fair bit of pain!) survive on our own.

I do not think it will come to that, but it is true.