The fact is that the majority of our thoughts and actions are on autopilot. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing either. Our habits, routines, impulses, and reactions carry us through our lives so we don’t have to stop and think about it every time we wipe our ass or start a car.
The problem is when we’re on autopilot for so long that we forget we’re on autopilot. Because when we’re not even aware of our own habits, routines, impulses, and reactions, then we no longer control them they control us.
The problem is when we’re on autopilot for so long that we forget we’re on autopilot. Because when we’re not even aware of our own habits, routines, impulses, and reactions, then we no longer control them.
We’re not on autopilot when we’re running around with guns and talking about how we need guns. We’re on autopilot when we’re running around with guns and talking about how we need guns.
It seems that more and more, we are constantly on autopilot, and we don’t even realize it.
To try to fix this, economists have long suggested that we should look at the “natural” business cycle and see what phases of the cycle occur most in tandem with severe economic downturns. To do this, they define a “natural” business cycle as one in which, according to this definition, there was a positive growth rate from the start of the year until the end of the year (or the beginning of the quarter, in the case of the US).
The idea is, and I would expect it to be completely debunked by the next economic downturn, that business cycles are actually cyclical. Because we see a positive growth rate, and we don’t see a negative growth rate, which is exactly what we see in a recession, we can conclude that there was a positive growth rate. The problem is, we don’t see that growth rate in a recession. So here’s my proposed solution.
This is interesting in that there are two types of cycles, linear, where the business cycle is the same from quarter to quarter, and cyclical, where the cycle is the same from year to year. The problem with the cyclical business cycle is that the growth rate is negative. If a cyclical cycle is the same from quarter to quarter, then it is the same from year to year. But by definition, the rate of growth is always negative.
The reason why there is such a negative growth rate in the business cycle is because of the amount of debt that is being incurred in every cycle. This is the basis for the notion that the business cycle is cyclical. We are all familiar with the idea of loan forgiveness, wherein we forgive debt that we owe. In the same manner, the amount of debt that is being incurred in each cycle is the basis for the notion that debt is a major factor in the business cycle.
