Der philosophische Gehalt des Resilienzbegriffs – normative Aspekte

Abstract

There is almost no subsystem of society that influences our lives as strongly as markets do. Markets account for wealth and poverty, progress - and the destruction of ecosystems. Markets have the capacity to make very valuable contributions to the common welfare, but only if their potential is channeled using their specific principles and mechanisms. To gain a comprehensive perspective, we introduce the concepts of first- and second-order resilience (Eigenresilienz and Kontextresilienz), asking whether and how the resilience of markets on their own (first- order resilience) influences the resilience of societies and our environment as a whole (second-order resilience). We further examine how these two concepts relate to normative resilience, assuming that all three aspects need to be in balance. Presenting two empirical examples - the global commodity markets and the German energy market, we reveal the challenges that typically arise when designing and regulating markets that, if they are resilient in both senses, can help to promote sustainable development.