https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Emergency-Norton-Global-Ethics/dp/0393340589

Elaine Scarry wrote the most important and concise book on this topic that I ever encountered. It both educated and enraged me. You can get a great physical copy of it for around $6.00 at bookfinder.com.

“The great force of Scarry’s rhetoric is saved for her final two examples. The Swiss have spent the last 60 years designing an extensive system of fallout shelters for their entire population—”all inhabitants”—as well as ritualized practices for safe-guarding precious artifacts that represent Swiss civilization and the Swiss way of life. These practices are spread throughout the population and routinely practiced. “Any Swiss man” can rehearse a very specific task that will be carried out in an emergency. The Swiss can rise to this level of performance because preparedness and collective thinking have been ingrained through habit.

What we in the United States have, by contrast, is a very extensive system of shelters that represents billions of dollars of investment to »safeguard the executive branch only.” (!!!!)

“One of the things that has seduced people into giving up on their own actions is the claim of emergency—the government will often make the spurious claim that because certain things require very fast action, there is no time for ordinary processes of deliberation and thinking, and therefore we have to abridge our normal protocols. I find exactly the opposite to be the case. Thinking and emergency action are deeply compatible.”

“For sixty years, modern democratic governments have undermined democracy and increased executive power by invoking the idea of emergency. They have bypassed constitutional provisions concerning presidential succession, the declaration of war, the use of torture, civilian surveillance, and the arrangements for nuclear weapons. In the desire for swift national action, we citizens devalue thinking and ignore ways to check government power, plunging our countries into a precarious state between monarchy and democracy. Drawing on the work of philosophers, neuroscientists, and artists, Elaine Scarry proves decisively that thinking and rapid action are compatible. Practices that we dismiss as mere habit and protocol instead represent rigorous, effective modes of thought that we must champion in times of crisis. Scarry’s bold claim on behalf of fundamental democratic principles will enliven and enrich the ongoing debate about leadership.”

“In Thinking in an Emergency, Elaine Scarry lays bare the realities of “emergency” politics and emphasizes what she sees as the ultimate ethical concern: “equality of survival.” She reveals how regular citizens can reclaim the power to protect one another and our democratic principles. Government leaders sometimes argue that the need for swift national action means there is no time for the population to think, deliberate, or debate. But Scarry shows that clear thinking and rapid action are not in opposition. Examining regions as diverse as Japan, Switzerland, Ethiopia, and Canada, Scarry identifies forms of emergency assistance that represent “thinking” at its most rigorous and remarkable. She draws on the work of philosophers, scientists, and artists to remind us of our ability to assist one another, whether we are called upon to perform acts of rescue as individuals, as members of a neighborhood, or as citizens of a country.”

https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Emergency-Norton-Global-Ethics/dp/0393340589