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WHAT IS SELF SUFFICIENCY?

ABLE TO SUPPLY ONE'S OWN NEEDS WITHOUT EXTERNAL ASSISTANCE.

NOTES 1. NO SMALL EXTENT


2. ALWAYS LINK BACK TO SELF SUFFICIENCY

STAND:
COUNTRIES SHOULD AIM TO BE SELFSUFFICIENT TO A LARGE EXTENT.

TS1: COUNTRIES HAVE THEIR OWN SELFINTERESTS AT HAND AND MAY NOT HAVE THE POLITICAL WILL TO HELP ANOTHER COUNTRY. HENCE COUNTRIES MUST PROVIDE FOR THEIR OWN SELVES WITHOUT RELYING ON OTHER COUNTRIES HELP.

EXAMPLES

TS2: COUNTRIES CAN BE SUSCEPTIBLE TO GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS WHICH WILL HAVE A DETRIMENTAL IMPACT ON THEM. THUS, TO AVOID BEING HEAVILY AFFECTED BY SUCH CRISES, COUNTRIES MUST AIM TO BE SELF SUFFICIENT.

ELABORATION
COUNTRIES WILL INCUR DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES BY BEING ADVERSELY AFFECTED BY GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISES. TO BEGIN WITH, COUNTRIES WILL SEE A DRASTIC FALL IN THEIR REAL GDP LEVEL DUE TO HAVING A RECESSION. THIS WILL RESULT IN MUCH LOWER INCOME LEVELS FOR CONSUMERS AND WILL LEAD TO AN INCREASE IN UNEMPLOYMENT. THE COUNTRY WILL ALSO EXPERIENCE AN INCREASE IN DEBT. THIS WILL LEAD TO COUNTRIES BEING UNABLE TO PROVIDE FOR THEIR OWN SELVES AS THEY HAD RELIED ON THE GLOBAL ECONOMY.

EXAMPLE 1. FINANCIAL CRISIS FROM 2007-2008


- THE IMMEDIATE CAUSE OR TRIGGER OF THE CRISIS WAS THE BURSTING OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSING BUBBLE WHICH PEAKED IN APPROXIMATELY 20052006. AS HOUSING PRICES DECLINED, FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS THAT HAD BORROWED AND INVESTED HEAVILY IN US REPORTED SIGNIFICANT LOSSES. THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND ESTIMATED THAT LARGE U.S. AND EUROPEAN BANKS LOST MORE THAN $1 TRILLION ON ASSETS AND FROM BAD LOANS FROM JANUARY 2007 TO SEPTEMBER 2009. COUNTRIES SUCH AS GERMANY WHICH HAD BEEN EXPERIENCING ECONOMIC GROWTH HAD A DECLINE IN ITS GDP DRASTICALLY FROM 49.6% IN 2007 TO 14.4% IN 2009.

SHOULD AIM TO BE SELFSUFFICIENT, COUNTRIES SHOULD REALISE ITS LIMITATIONS AND NOT OVER COMMIT TO SELFSUFFICIENCY SO MUCH SO THAT THEY MISS OUT ON LUCRATIVE OPPORTUNITIES PRESENTED BY RELYING OR OBTAINING GOODS AND SERVICES FROM THE GLOBAL ECONOMY.

ELABORATION A COUNTRY MAY LOSE OUT IF IT CHOOSES TO DEVOTE A PART


OF LAND TO AGRICULTURE INSTEAD OF IMPORTING FOOD FROM OTHER COUNTRIES, ALL IN THE SAME OF SELF-SUFFICIENCY. THE COUNTRY MIGHT LOSE OUT BECAUSE THAT PIECE OF LAND THAT COULD HAVE BEEN SOLD TO DEVELOPERS OR FOREIGN INVESTOR WHO MIGHT UTILISE THAT PIECE OF LAND FOR GREATER ECONOMIC BENEFIT. THE GOVERNMENT MAY BE ABLE TO TAX THESE INVESTORS MANY TIMES MORE MONEY THAN WHAT THEY WOULD HAVE SPENT IMPORTING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.

EXAMPLE

1. SINGAPORE UNDERSTANDS THAT IT HAS A VERY SMALL AMOUNT


OF LAND, IT IS UNABLE TO ALLOCATE TOO MUCH OF ITS LAND TO BEING SELF-SUFFICIENT IN TERMS OF THE AMOUNT OF FOOD IT IMPORTS, THUS, AS OF 2010, SINGAPORE ONLY DEVOTES 0.5% OF ITS AVAILABLE LAND TO AGRICULTURE WHILE INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE, THE BREAD BASKET OF SINGAPORE GETS 13% OF LAND ALLOCATION

TS4: COUNTRIES CAN AIM TO BE SELF-SUFFICIENT BUT SINCE RESOURCES ARE FINITE, THIS IS NOT A VIABLE LONG TERM SOLUTION AND IS MIGHT ADVERSELY AFFECT THEIR STANDARD OF LIVING IN THE FUTURE.

ELABORATION
1. BEING
SELF-SUFFICIENT WOULD LIKELY MEAN THAT THE COUNTRY WOULD HAVE TO TAP ON ITS OWN DOMESTIC RESOURCES TO FUEL ITS ECONOMY AND PEOPLE. HOWEVER SINCE A COUNTRY CANNOT CONTINUOUSLY PRODUCE ITS NATURAL RESOURCES LIKE OIL, IT WOULD HAVE TO DEPEND ON THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY FOR A MORE SUSTAINABLE GROWTH. DEPENDENCE ON ITSELF WOULD LIKELY PROVE TO BE A DETRIMENTAL IN THE LONG RUN.

EXAMPLE 1.

MOST NATIONS UNDERSTAND THIS LIMITATION, EVEN THE OIL RICH NATIONS WHOSE OIL HAVE THUS FAR SUSTAINED THEIR GLOBAL PUSH FOR THE WORLD. IRAN WHICH HAS 10% OF THE WORLDS OIL RESERVES ANNOUNCED IN 2010 THAT THEY PLAN TO BUILD 2,000MW OF RENEWABLE ENERGY CAPACITY BETWEEN 2010-2015. WITHOUT WHICH IRANS OIL AND NATURAL GAS RESERVES WOULD BE PROJECTED TO RUN OUT IN 98 YEARS TIME. WITHOUT THE DOLLARS FROM SELLING THEIR OIL, IRAN WOULD FACE ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY. THEREFORE, THE VIABLE SOLUTION WOULD BE TO EITHER IMPORT SOME OIL FROM OTHER NATIONS TO WEAN OFF DEPENDENCY ON THEIR OWN DOMESTIC PRODUCTION OR THEY CAN EMPLOY THE EXPERTISE OF THE WORLD TO HELP THEM BUILD THEIR RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES, ALTHOUGH IN THE CASE IN IRAN, IT WOULD LIKELY HAVE TO GIVE SIGNIFICANT CONCESSIONS WITH REGARDS TO ITS CONTROVERSIAL NUCLEAR PROGRAMMED.

CONCLUSION
COUNTRIES SHOULD PUT IN EFFORT TO COME AS CLOSE TO COMPLETE SELF-SUFFICIENCY AS THEY CAN, BUT FOR ASPECTS WHERE THEY SIMPLY CANNOT, SOUND STRATEGIES AND CONTINGENCIES HAVE TO BE PUT IN PLACE.

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