ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book asserts a general statement that equality in the distribution of property and power was a vital component in pre-industrial societies capacity to deal or recover from crises. It focuses on the protective functions of the market, the state, or technological innovations. In fact none of these concepts and their institutions has any intrinsic or inherent value on their own. In some cases the market or the state may protect inhabitants of a society, but in other cases it may produce the opposite effect, the different types of social context in which they operate and determine their qualities. The book argues that the recent 'disaster studies' literature has been tentatively putting forward an idea that more 'equitable' societies were more resilient against terrible hazards and disasters.
