vicious cycles
Downward spirals, self-feeding
A vicious cycle is a sequence of events where each problem causes another, which in turn worsens the original: Poverty leads to poor education, which leads to unemployment, which deepens poverty.
The pattern is self-reinforcing and difficult to break.
Also called a vicious circle.
The opposite is a virtuous cycle, where positive effects compound.
- trapDevice for catching animals
- spiralCurve winding around center
- slippery slopeArgument predicting inevitable escalation
- poverty trapsSelf-perpetuating economic hardship
- race to the bottomCompetition through degraded standards
downward spiral · loop · hamster wheel · spinning wheels · relapse · toxic relationship · self-perpetuating · rabbit hole · addictions · vortex · snowball effect · entrapments · learned helplessness · rumination · self-sabotage · self-fulfilling prophecy · quicksands · procrastination
vicious cyclesequilibrium
State of balance
stability · homeostasis · steady states · balance · stasis
vicious, cycle, vice, cycles, cycling, cyclist, cycled, cyclical, bicycle