China and trade (cont.)

Reading about the Australian government reviewing foreign purchases of agriland makes you think of the autarky goals of past regimes. While achieving a complete autarky is impossible the concept of being self-sufficient within your region does play into geopolitics of today. China securing farmland in Australia or other natural resources in Africa or the South China sea shows the same qualities of a government that wants to attain self-sufficiency, albeit now through economic means more than the military means of the past. The commodity super cycle may not be as strong as it once was, but cheaper prices in the commodity sector can provide opportunities for governments and corporations to start grabbing resources for future consumption and security.

On a broader scale what other countries are looking to stimulate their countries within and why? Could the grab for land, or limited partnerships with other countries be a means of avoiding the perils of the currency wars while stabilizing the economy at home? It is not an easy question to answer but looking through this lens into current global affairs could provide another side of the stories that we are scratching our heads over recently.