For those of you who didn’t catch me on econ-law a few months ago [2005] during the hurricanes, here is an expanded version of what I posted there:
Here are some alternative ways of rationing in an emergency. At least some of these have been written about by Yoram Barzel. We have witnessed all of them during hurricane Katrina [and also this summer (2008) during Ivan]:
(1) market prices (“price gouging”)
(2) waiting in line
(3) centrally planned rationing
(4) don’t ration: just let the resource run out
It’s not clear that, even with perfect knowledge, with or without an emrgency, centrally planned rationing could operate without using one of the other methods of rationing. In any case, our very poor knowledge about each others’ needs is sufficient to ensure that, short of a perfect price system, we can’t get what we want without waiting in line, and sometimes we…
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Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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