Business and Economics
Occurrence of disasters of epic proportions disrupt the lives of members or citizens of any given community. These individuals look up to their very own authorities for assistance, both material and immaterial. It is prudent to understand that all kinds of calamities can affect a large section of a country’s populace. The adverse effects or impact of the disasters can impair the effectiveness of government response. In many case scenarios, a country’s economic system influences the degree to which the authorities can avail its resources in aiding the affected. The best economic system suited in ensuring crisis of epic proportions are handled well is socialism. Socialism tends to focus primarily on the people rather than other parameters such as costs and profit (Kreimer & Arnold, 2000). The authorities operating under this economic system allocate resources equally strictly focusing on the crisis-situation as it is. Unlike other economic systems, socialism exhibits a human face that augurs well with disaster management. Socialist authorities are held in high regard by the affected citizens who don’t suspect any ulterior motive in the aid availed such as political posturing, corruption et cetera. It further tends to collectively pull people together with a core aim of helping those in great need (Kreimer & Arnold, 2000). If implemented in its perfect form, it may go a long way in creating a humane culture amongst societies that constitute a country.
Describe and explain why a socialist system might be the best in responding to the needs of people struck by an emergency situation like the earthquake that occurred in Haiti in January 2010.
The Haiti earthquake disaster was one of the most notable natural calamities in the recent past. In such a case, a socialist system is the best in managing the crisis as well as responding to the needs of the affected populace. This is evident in the qualities espoused by this system whereby it is able to garner much aid in a larger scale as compared to other economic systems. This is highly embedded in the fact that socialism operates on a blend of public and private operations and a great level of governmental support. It is important to note that the Haiti disaster was one of the most catastrophic disasters in the recent past. Sixty percent of the Haitian infrastructure was wrecked, more than 230,000 deaths were reported leaving an approximate number of 300,000 needing medical intervention and over two million without basic necessities (Heine & Thompson, 2011). A socialist system would oversee the allocation of resources in a non-discriminatory manner to all the victims. The system “pools together resources from all sectors” in order to manage a crisis of such magnitude (Kreimer & Arnold, 2000). It ensures that all are catered for equally as long as they are all affected regardless of their economic power and advancement.
Use the laws of supply and demand to explain why the cost to heat our homes and businesses goes up in the winter time.
Individuals are inclined to make adjustments to their spending tendencies as long as there exist differences in quantities necessitated and quantities provided (Marshall, 2013). The disparity observed in prices or costs conveys the principles of supply and demand into action. In this case, the cost to heat up our homes increases due to the increased number of homes using heat appliances. There are more homes and businesses in need of the services of electrical companies that provide heat power as a service or good. The demand thus forces these companies to adjust their prices upwards. The prices are adjusted in order to cushion the manufacturer from the costs arising from the need to meet the consumer wants. There might be more man-hours or elements of production required to meet this surging demand which have cost-implications on the manufacturer’s part. This scenario, however, is different during summer. Many homes and businesses reduce their use of heat appliances which in turn impacts on the demand for heat and heat appliances negatively. The reduced demand means much heat power is in supply hence forcing the electrical companies to scale down the cost and price of providing heat to homes and businesses.
References
Heine, J., & Thompson, A. S. (2011). Fixing Haiti: MINUSTAH and beyond. New York: United Nations University Press.
Kreimer, A., & Arnold, M. (2000). Managing Disaster Risk in Emerging Economies. Washington, DC: World Bank.
Marshall, A. (2013). Principles of economics.
