Imagine a row of dominoes where knocking over one piece triggers a cascade that topples them all. This is systemic risk – when a single failure can bring down an entire system. Now imagine several such cascade failures happening simultaneously at a global scale and making each other worse. This occurrence of heightened global systemic risk and its actualization is the global polycrisis we face today. Let’s explore these concepts that help us understand the complexity of modern global threats.

Florian U. Jehn

Read full post in Existential Crisis by Florian U. Jehn

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