Perennial crisis and the loss of flexibility

Abstract

Crisis interrupts routine in unwelcome ways with an uncertain outcome. The Greek word krisis (κρíσις), which is etymologically close to criterion and criticism, was occasionally used in relation to social ailments. However, more often, it was used to refer to a medical condition characterized by a high fever. A critical condition in English and other European languages refers to a similar situation. Two possible outcomes were envisioned in ancient Greece: you died or you recovered. In the contemporary world, the term ‘crisis’ can be of limited relevance since crisis is endemic and chronic in one or several domains virtually everywhere. There are two general causes for this: accelerated, runaway globalization generates unpredictable, unintentional side effects; and different parts of a lifeworld change at different speeds, leading to disjunctures and destabilization. Perhaps volatility is a more appropriate term.