See also: Vicious circle (homonymy)

One can distinguish three types of vicious circle :

Evolutionary vicious circle

In its direction more running, a vicious circle (or diabolic sequence , Effect vicious snowball or spiral ) is a whole of causes and effects which form a loop degrading the situation, because the negative effect nourishes and amplifies the causes which give him birth. Contrary, one speaks about Virtuous circle or spiral virtuous , when the same mechanism of amplifying Rétroaction involves positive or beneficial effects.

The Effet snowball is the best example of vicious circle. Another example: the experiment shows that the more bad mood is shown, the more one meets people who make in the same way. Contrary, more one smiles, more the world around oneself is smiling.

Examples of evolutionary vicious circles: in agriculture on Denshering, the Rotation S.

In economy

The expression is very much used in economy, where one observes many cases where two dependant phenomena interact to lead to an additional degradation of the situation.

For example, for the “vicious circle of the Inflation”, an initial rise of the Salaire S causes a rise of the Production costs companies, therefore a rise of the Prix, which pushes the employees (and their trade unions) to claim an additional rise of wages. With final, the Purchasing power of paid did not increase, but inflation is higher and disturbs economic operation more.

Situational vicious circle

One also speaks about vicious circle in a paradoxical situation where the cause is also consequence of the effect.

The most known example of this last type of vicious circle is the Paradoxe of egg and the hen. A more general example is a situation in which an individual must achieve two actions, each one demanding that the other is done initially. The English language running employs the term Catch 22 to indicate this type of paradoxes, because Joseph Heller describes in his novel Catch 22 such situations. A more concrete example of such a situation occurs in the context of the looking for a job: an employer generally claims track records; however it is necessary to be employed to acquire track records.

In economy, a situational vicious circle can block an evolutionary virtuous circle . If a new technology is beneficial, then, its development and the parallel development of applications constitutes an evolutionary virtuous circle. However, one can object that:

* the profitability of technology requires, au préalable, a significant development of its applications.

* the profitability of its applications requires, au préalable, the profitability of technology (allowing the fall of its price).

Such a case of figure shows that a too liberal economy could, according to certain economists, to involve a harmful opposition to progress (see for example Biocarburant, Economy of scale).

The petition of principle

In Logical, one also speaks about vicious circle in the case of a Pétition of principle (where the supposed consequence is in fact a condition of the premise).

See too

• How to break a vicious circle

Internal bonds

• Paradox of egg and the hen

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