ABSTRACT
It is possible that even a wealthy trading country has no autarkic equilibrium. It may lack the climate, land area, soil fertility and technology needed for subsistence food production. One thinks immediately of Holland, Belgium, Ireland, Singapore, Hong Kong, and even Japan and the United Kingdom. Of course, observations of this sort become precise only after the size of the population and its distribution by age have been specified. Allowances must be made for the possibility that a country lacks the technology or raw materials needed for subsistence medical care, that is, medical care compatible with pre-assigned population size and life expectancies. One now thinks of many more countries, especially those in the early stages of industrial development.
