[Urbane Guerrilla]

I think Pierce's thinking is a little too limited, too early-twentieth-century in its framing. He's not thinking in terms of the dramatic globalization that is the salient feature of the world's economy. Globalization makes talk of a nation not being "self sufficient/sustainable" moot.

What this globalization does always mean is we will continue our national policy of insistence upon free trade, everywhere, always, and to the maximum possible, just as we've done since before 1783.