By nature, the developed world shuns cooperation and charity. When all is working correctly and as it should, the emphasis is on competition; winning the rat race. This, of course, is bred into us through our capitalist economic policies, when you are doing something all day at work, in a business environment, it filters through into our personal lives and individual outlooks.

But, as we have seen in the case of Japan, when disasters strike, humanity reverts to a much more primal state – helping your neighbour, doing all you can to assist those that are in need.

People become leaders, others faithful lieutenants, others just trust in those who take the bull by the horns and follow orders to help shovel mess, distribute food, help people out of buildings. These positive initiatives are spellbinding to watch and remind us that when things get rough, we can all pull on the same rope to achieve a common goal.

In Japan, people that would have walked past a homeless person just a couple of days ago, are now doing all they can to help those who have no food, shelter or clothes. Humanity, the base instinct of self-preservation, is put on hold for a more noble cause, collective preservation.

We have seen this happen time and time again. When the last monster tsunami hit, we saw the world come together to offer aid and to send teams to the disaster hit area. The same happened in Australia after the floods which hit in the wake of a typhoon.

We have seen it on much smaller scales, but the story is always the same. There is an element of token charity and teamwork for the greater good in our modern lives, but it is only when we face tragedies of Biblical proportions that we can really put differences aside and help others without any expectation of reward.

This same principle must be applied in the Libya crisis. The will is there, but no one will commit. David Cameron has been an advocate for intervention in Libya from the get-go. Sarkozy entered the fray quite late, but has perhaps made the most significant gesture to date in recognising the rebels as an official entity.

Time is running out for the Libyans and if Gaddafi continues to press forward with his military superiority, the rebellion will be quelled – in bloody and brutal fashion. Gaddafi has tanks and heavy weapons. If there is no military intervention – such as a no-fly zone or pinpoint airstrikes, then there is not much hope for a new Libya.

The rebels are being holed up in Benghazi and their only hope now is to evacuate the city and for civilians to disappear into the desert. The rebels will then have to wage guerilla warfare with small arms and will have to hope that they can ‘bleed’ Gaddafi’s army dry as sanctions take their toll.

Sanctions will hurt Gaddafi’s ability to strike in terms of fuel and money to be paid to his supporters. But sanctions will also hurt the Libyan people, those same people that the West so badly wants to become the new Libya.

When the euro was about to come crashing down, Sarkozy bellowed across an ashen faced table “we must act, we must do something now”. It spurred the EU into action and although far from stable, matters were improved in that respect. Now it is time for the world and Europe to act on this other matter. Failure to do so will result in the bloody murder of thousands of Libyans. Then the regime will turn its attention to us – the West.