Haiti Economic System Analysis

There are many different types of economic systems, but some are more superior to others in different situations. The two situations that I will look at are which economic system is best suited for handling a crisis of epic proportions and if a socialist system is the best to respond to a natural disaster like the earthquake that occurred in Haiti on January 2010. I will also explain how the laws of supply and demand work in an economic system during the winter time. Many countries have faced handling crises of epic proportions throughout history like hurricanes, floods, blizzards, forest fires, volcanic eruptions, etc. The reason some countries did better than others when responding to those crises was dependent on which economic system

According to Anglin, M., & Harris, B. (2014): “The key services that a socialist system provides are education, transportation, and healthcare” (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-difference-between-capitalism-and-socialism.htm). In a socialist system these key services that the government manages and own are for the people. They are not for making profit, but for providing value back to the people of that country. That’s the biggest thing that socialist system has over a capitalist system. Its goods and services are for the citizens to use and not for profit first. It does not mean though that there are not businesses for profits, they are just more difficult to start and own in a socialist

A socialist system would have enabled Haiti to invest and improve on the key services it would have been providing for its citizens like hospitals. According to Ashley Smith (2010): “The earthquake toppled poorly constructed houses, hotels, hospitals and even the capital’s main political buildings, including the presidential palace” (http://socialistworker.org/2010/01/14/catastrophe-in-haiti). The hospitals should have been in the position to withstand an earthquake. As that’s one of the key services a socialist system looks after is providing healthcare to its citizens, but Haiti was not investing in those key services for its citizens. They should have had better constructed hospitals before the earthquake stuck.
Also a socialist system makes it first priority about the citizens and would have done everything in its power to save lives in Haiti. This is not the same in a Capitalist system as the key services are not always owned by the government. The for-profit companies may not think it is worth their effort to assist when a crisis strikes. They can also use these times for their advantage and make a lot of money, because they can demand a lot more for their services in crisis