Panarchy

A panarchy is a set of nested adaptive cycles.

C.S. Holling, from "Understanding the complexity of economic, ecological and social systems," 2001.

Two connections ... are critical in creating and sustaining adaptive capability. One is the "revolt" connection, which can cause a critical change in one cycle to cascade up to a vulnerable stage in a larger and slower one. The other is the "remember" connection which facilitates renewal by drawing on the potential that has been accumulated and stored in a larger, slower cycle.

C.S. Holling, Lance Gunderson, and Garry Peterson, from "Sustainability and Panarchies," in Panarchy, 2002.

In The Clock of the Long Now, [Stewart] Brand ... generalizes the role of remembrance and revolt for society as a whole. In a healthy society, each level is allowed to operate at its own pace, protected from above by slower, larger levels but invigorated from below by faster, smaller cycles of innovation.

See: Pace Layering

Image after: Resilience Alliance website, "Key Concepts."