ABSTRACT
A truism of life is not just that bad things happen to good people, but that bad things happen to all people. Much of our life is spent weighing options and making choices that seem best able to provide us with a measure of stability, opportunity, and the chance of happiness. At its most fundamental, this process can be termed “risk management.” Risk management, therefore, is inherent in all human endeavors. It is an aspect of individual self-determination, family planning, and social functioning. The appropriateness and extent of risk management and mitigation processes by government, be they regarding terror, fire, or flood, may be among the most pressing political questions of our time.
