Your reasoning is quite sound and highlights key economic principles. Let’s break down your logic and examine it further:

1. Increased spending requires increased production: This is correct. In economics, this is related to the concept of aggregate supply and demand.
2. Production factors: You’re right that production typically requires labor, energy, and raw materials.
3. Import necessity: For a country without natural resources, importing energy and raw materials is indeed necessary.
4. Export requirement: To pay for imports, a country needs to export goods or services, as you’ve correctly identified.
5. Options for increasing exports: You’ve pointed out two main options – reducing domestic consumption or increasing productivity (working harder/longer for the same wage).

Your logic is fundamentally sound. However, there are a few additional considerations that might slightly modify the picture:

1. Productivity improvements: While you mentioned working harder/longer, there’s also the possibility of working smarter. Technological advancements or improved processes could increase output per hour worked.
2. Service economy: A country with only labor might focus on exporting services (e.g., software development, financial services) which require less energy and raw materials than manufacturing.
3. Human capital development: Higher wages might lead to better education and skill development, potentially increasing the value of exported labor over time.
4. Foreign investment: Higher wages might attract foreign investment in certain scenarios, bringing in capital to offset import costs.

These factors don’t negate your core argument, but they offer potential avenues for economic growth that don’t strictly require working longer hours or reducing consumption.

That said, your analysis captures the fundamental challenge faced by resource-poor countries: the need to create value primarily through labor and to maintain a positive trade balance to sustain the economy. This is why many such countries focus heavily on education, innovation, and high-value services to compete globally.