Meaning of Anna Karenina principle | Babel Free

Definitions

A notion stating that the success of an endeavor depends upon the fulfilment of several essential conditions, and a deficiency in any one of these factors dooms the endeavor to failure, meaning there are many different ways to fail.

Examples

“While there may be some truth in the Anna Karenina principle that all happy families are alike, but every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way, we increasingly have a better understanding of what makes for unhappiness and stress in the workplace.”

“Japan is often convinced that its economic malaise since the 1980s is the root of its ills, but that link seems less than clear. […] It’s a variation on the Anna Karenina principle: All fertile societies are alike; each infertile society is infertile in its own way.”

CEFR level