Abstract for: Understanding and overcoming the unfortunate resilience of our unsustainable socio-economic system.

The sustainability crisis humanity is facing indicates that humankind is on an unsustainable path. Accordingly, we need to leave this path and get on a sustainable one. Sustainability discussions are not new, and multiple attempts have been undertaken to change the path humanity is on. It seems that these attempts have been unsuccessful in bringing about the deep transformation that is needed. In this paper, we take the unconventional view on resilience and suppose that the current socio-economic system is stuck on its path and thus resilient to change. Using systems thinking and causal loop diagrams we analyze the factors and mechanisms that cause this unwanted system resilience. Further, we investigate potential ways to overcome this resilience to permit the sustainability transition that is needed.