Close, but not quite. In your hypothetical scenario, North Koreans would certainly be able to sort themselves out without the daily handouts if they weren't be

Close, but not quite. In your hypothetical scenario, North Koreans would certainly be able to sort themselves out without the daily handouts if they weren't being oppressed by the NK government. Is it the case that the Ayn Rand Institute would have been perfectly capable of supporting themselves in this crisis if everyone had just been paying lower taxes and had fewer regulations? Perhaps people at the Institute think so, but I'm pretty skeptical.