Public health, democracy, peace, social security, economic prosperity, an unspoilt environment: much of what we have long taken for granted now seems to be under threat. So-called ‘tipping points’ describe those moments when a system — whether ecological, political or social — undergoes a sudden and irreversible change: from climate collapse to the crisis in welfare systems, from the rise of populism to the concentration of power amongst today’s tech giants, which echoes the earlier break-up of Rockefeller’s Standard Oil.
Drawing on the book Gekippt, this round-table discussion explores whether and how such moments of rupture can be predicted, influenced or avoided, rather than experienced as an inescapable fate. At the heart of the discussion lies the concept of social resilience: which tools — economic, institutional, cultural — enable societies to absorb increasingly intense shocks without crossing the critical threshold beyond which change becomes uncontrollable and irreversible.
The session will provide the audience with a framework for recognising the warning signs of a system on the brink of collapse and for devising responses capable of reversing course before it is too late.
