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Essay and Definitions

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Essay and Definitions

Part 1: definitions

Collective action is a problem that portrays the elements of collective action, which

occurs when individuals work together to achieve a similar measure. Therefore, collective

action problems tend to inhibit a joint action by individuals who pursue a common goal.

Climate change, loss of biodiversity, and waste accumulation are collective action problems

because they result from different everyday actions of other people with different interests.

The collective action problem originates from the fact that while all individuals in a given

group may have a common interest, each must also have a conflicting interest. Mancur Olson,

an American political economist, once popularized collective action problems by pointing out

that the adoption of selective incentives is the only strategy through which groups can solve

this problem (Oliver, 2009). Collective action explains what went wrong with the decision on

the ambitious plans of Toronto that David Miller proposed, also known as the transit city.

Rob Ford immediately dismissed this proposal when he rose to power (lecture notes). Even

though the public worked together towards this mission, individuals such as Rob had a

conflicting interest that hindered the group's achievement of a common goal.

Mutually assured destruction is a principle based on the military notion that when one

superpower initiates a nuclear attack, chances are very high that there would be an

overwhelming counterattack from both the attacker and the defender (Eric, 2016). Donald

Brennan coined the concept of Mutual Assured Destruction as the world strived to bring to a

-halt the continuous nuclear attack between the United States of America and the Soviet

Warheads (Eric, 2016). In an ideal world, mutually assured destruction usually emerges as

each state or a superpower aims to gain a nuclear advantage over the other nation, leading to

a continuous counterattack as each country strives to stabilize its atomic power. Mutually
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assured destruction may also manifest itself in a scenario where influential leaders strive to

prove their superiority over each other. Both Ford Rob and David Miller exhibit elements of

Mutual Assured Destruction because if one makes a suggestion, the other attempts to come

up with a more superior contradicting idea.

Moral hazard is an economic term that describes a scenario where a given entity

enters an agreement set to increase its risk exposure because it will not bear the cost of the

entire risk if it occurs (Toya & Mark, 2007). If a business entity has an insurance cover, it

might undertake risky business action because the insurance company will meet the costs

involved if the risk occurs. A moral hazard usually emerges when the activities of a risk-

taking party diverge towards the detriment of the cost-bearing party after both parties have

held a successful financial transaction. Moral hazard was common in the United States of

America between the seventeenth and the nineteenth century among the English insurance

company and meant fraud or immorality on the insured. Economist Ken Arrow, however,

shed light on this term by associating it with the analysis of the efficiencies that arise with

risk displacements (Toya & Mark, 2007). This concept relates to what went wrong in the

decision-making in that David Miller gave minimal time to complete the transit city

transportation constructions. This move would have driven Toronto city to a financial crisis

because of the cost involved in the construction. However, Miller bothered less, knowing that

he did not stand to undergo any losses for the funding of the construction was a government

project. Therefore, he could easily risk.

Part 2: The Hurricane Katrina

Introduction
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Identifiers such as race, gender, indigeneity, and class are helpful in the analysis of

the causes and the aftermath of disasters. In the face of a disaster such as Hurricane Katrina,

the public understands the pervasiveness concerning race, class, and gender inequalities.

Even though most catastrophes usually emerge from natural causes, the identifiers of social

classes may determine to which extent the disaster may harm the environment. These

identifiers help in understanding the depth and impact of a disaster, therefore valuable for

analysis.

Ideally, low-class individuals are, in most instances, the minor ethnic groups. In

analyzing what went wrong, the low class felt the impact of the delayed transport system

constructions because they did not have an option. They rely on the introductory government

provisions for their survival, while the rich may have alternative and advanced transport

systems. Therefore, including these social challenges in the analysis of what went wrong

would aid in understanding the depth of the impact on the most affected individuals. The

class involves individuals' social and economic well-being where the rich form the high class

while the poor form the low class (Peter, 1999).

Class is relevant in analyzing the aftermath of a disaster because, in most instances,

low-income households greatly depend on natural resources for their livelihood, and the

tragedy may negatively impact the resources. Low-class individuals are therefore vulnerable

to the financial losses that a nation may realize due to a natural disaster. Gender relations

have a way of shaping women's and men's lives in a manner critical to risk reduction. Both

women and men have different gender roles, responsibilities, and access to resources that

greatly influence the depth to which a natural hazard will affect each. In addition to this, the

difference in gender roles and other related factors determine how each will cope and recover

from a disaster. Such information is therefore essential in the post-analysis of catastrophe,

especially while finding out its economic challenges. Race is crucial in disaster analysis
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because the minor ethnic groups are the most affected in the face of calamities because they

are likely to evacuate due to minimum social support. Generally, the disparity in disaster

control between ethnic groups is a challenge that has not gone away (Peter, 1999). The

government initiatives in the face of a calamity, in most instances, favor first inhabitants of a

region, qualifying indignity to be a considered factor in the cause and aftermath of a

catastrophe (Lecture notes). Including these factors in the analysis of what went wrong

would help understand how the paralyzed state of Toronto city has dramatically affected the

less privileged in the city while excluding them may hinder obtaining a satisfying condition

of delayed transport project, and its effect on the general public.

Conclusion

These identifiers are critical in analyzing a calamity that has realized massive destruction in

an environment and has impacted individuals of different social-economic classes, different

ethnic groups and, a society with different gender roles (Peter, 1999). However, these issues

are very critical, and including them in an analysis of a disaster may pose a series of critics in

the involved society. On the contrary, studying these factors to determine the impact of a

disaster on society is very important since it would result in a satisfying result. Additionally,

including the factors will aid in finding out the societal group that has been affected mainly

by the disaster and the general depth of the impact of the calamity, as it reflects in the society.

Excluding these factors in the analysis will, however, result hinder further explorations on the

calamity effects since it will limit the investigators on the areas of research.
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References

Eric, S. (2016). world war three, by mistake.

Oliver, R. (2009). a collapse of entitlements and democratic responsiveness. In The Niger

Famine.

Peter, W. (1999). Natural disasters are manufactured.

Toya, S & Mark, S. (2007). a reply to replication of economic development and the impacts

of natural disasters.