Institutional Failure as Surprise | Samo Burja
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Institutional Failure as Surprise | Samo Burja
Why are we so often taken off guard by institutional collapse? Whether it is Black Tuesday in 1929 or the fall of the USSR in 1991, we are blindsided by the most consequential institutional events of our time.
I claim it is in the nature of institutions to conceal decay.
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Systems with negative feedback loops degrade slowly (you notice the problem).
Systems with hidden negative feedback loops (or no feedback at all) collapse suddenly (you don't notice until it's catastrophic).
Civilizational collapse, then, looks like this dynamic at the scale of an entire civilization: a low-grade but constant loss of capabilities and knowledge throughout the most critical parts of our institutions, that eventually degrades our ability to perpetuate society.