Efficiency, fragility and unsustainable development
Efficiency, fragility and unsustainable development

Summary/Abstract: While efficiency improvements are supposed to contribute to sustainable development, due to different unexpected side effects they can make a system more fragile. The world has become so complex and interconnected, and logistics chains so long and intricate, that there are serious limits to the use of efficiency improvements in order to make society more sustainable. This may even threaten the existence of the system, and at least make it unsustainable. In this article, the author discusses various ideas and examples in the context of Taleb’s notion of antifragility, being a feature of systems that strengthen themselves under stress and are prepared for future challenges concerning their sustainability. This concept questions the sustainability of increased production and productivity by way of efficiency improvements. Society should be prepared to deal with future unexpected high impact events, which although are unlikely to happen, may threaten the existence of the system.

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