The problem with Price Gouging Laws. Is optimal pricing during an emergency unethical?

"The problem with Price Gouging Laws. Is optimal pricing during an emergency unethical?" written by Micheal Giberson illustrates how the price gouging laws during an emergency situation might do more harm than good to both the consumers and the merchant. He points out that, although the intention of having a price gouging laws is ethical, the unintended harms towards the consumers, especially those who are really in need, makes the law itself unethical.  The author gives strong reasoning on why price gouging law is unethical based on the ideas that it distorted the natural response and flow of the goods in the market, the law is vaguely defined, and the unintended consequences that affects the behavior of merchants.

Some of the questions that intrigue me are:

1. What are the unintended consequences from not having a price gouging laws? Probably the merchants would stock out their stocks in order to sell it in a much higher price later on, isn't it going to affect those who are in need as well during an emergency time?

2. The author argues heavily based on the assumption of consequential ism that "the end justify its means." But isn't it hold true to a lot of people that the "end does not justify its means"? How about those people who believes that we have to have ethics in the means of economics?

3. Taking the example of Japan, during the time when tsunami struck Japan, they do not increase their price. Rather, culturally the whole society helps each other by saving without even relying on the price gouging laws. Through this, the cities around Tokyo manage to save electricity that can sustain the whole Tokyo for a month. They do not have Price Gouging Law, the price did not increase as well, but still, the goods are handled and allocated efficiently. How does that going to say about his idea that "Price Gouging Laws is unethical and impractical"?

I think that I partially agree with the author on Price Gauging Laws because not every country can be like Japan. Price Gauging Laws, in my view, works only to certain countries. It depends heavily on the culture of that particular country as well. If you are in Malaysia, without Price Gauging Laws or the intervention of the government, the price can literally go up like crazy and it leads to more corruption. However, isn't it that we all want to create a civilization that values ethics and help each other in times of disasters?