Vicious circle

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A vicious circle (or cycle) is a complex chain of events that reinforces itself through a feedback loop, with detrimental results.^[1] It is a system with no tendency toward equilibrium (social, economic, ecological, etc.), at least in the short run. Each iteration of the cycle reinforces the previous one, in an example of positive feedback. A vicious circle will continue in the direction of its momentum until an external factor intervenes to break the cycle. A well-known example of a vicious circle in economics is hyperinflation.

When the results are not detrimental but beneficial, the term virtuous cycle is used instead.