When a natural disaster occurs the local people are typically the first to respond. This could be local citizens, fire departments, police, or anyone who is in the immediate area and also the local government. They help to search for living people and try to rescue and aid as many victims as possible. National non-profit organizations like the Red Cross and other Non Government Organizations (NGO’s) are normally on the scene relatively quickly to try to ease the suffering and aid in the humanitarian causes of searching for survivors. (“International Responses”, n.d., paragraph 1) Depending on the country and the type of disaster, government agencies and military might be on the scene rather quickly. In the United States, we have an organization known as FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) that is designed to deal with these types of disasters. There has been much debate and some issues that have been addressed since the catastrophes at Ground Zero and with Hurricane Katrina. Some recent acts that have been implemented have been the Homeland Security Act and the Post Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act. (“FEMA/About”, n.d., paragraph 3 and 4.)
In regards to what economic system is best for handling a crisis of epic proportions; this would depend on the crisis. All economies would have their strengths and weaknesses depending on the crisis that occurred. A capitalist society would be able to act quickly and would have the resources and agencies in place to address these situations almost immediately. There would also be local governments in these areas that can act autonomously without having to wait for the central government’s approval and direction. Nickels, J. McHugh & S Mchugh (2010) show that a socialist economy