Why Resilience Rhetoric Can Signal System Failure
A reference definition explaining why resilience rhetoric can signal system and governance failure when individuals are required to absorb sustained structural stress.
Institute for Systems Integrity (ISI)
Resilience is often framed as a strength. Under system stress, it can become a warning sign.
The resilience paradox
When systems fail to adapt, resilience is demanded of individuals:
- Longer hours
- Greater emotional load
- Normalisation of overload
This keeps the system functioning — temporarily — while masking structural failure.
Risk transfer disguised as virtue
Celebrating resilience often means:
- Risk has been shifted downward
- Structural problems remain unaddressed
- Failure is personalised rather than examined
This is not sustainable performance. It is a deferred collapse.
Governance implications
When leaders praise resilience without redesigning systems, they are:
- Consuming human buffers
- Avoiding structural accountability
- Increasing long-term harm
Resilience should be an output of good system design — not a substitute for it
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