virtuous circle

Definitions

1. A situation in which the solution to one problem makes each future problem easier to solve than the original one.
   idiomatic
2. A series of positive events where each event leads to the next, creating a self-sustaining cycle of improvement and success.
   idiomatic

Equivalents

Examples

“[T]he less our agriculturists are interfered with by the importation of foreign corn, the more money have⟳ they to spend⟳ with their manufacturing brethren, who, in turn⟳, secure of their steady profits at home, are able to ship extensively to distant markets with little apprehension as to the result⟳. In political economy there may be "vicious circles," but there are "virtuous circles" too, and this is one of them.”

“State structuration, in effect, was characterized by the maintenance of a ‘virtuous circle’ from the post-feudal period to the middle of the twentieth century. This virtuous circle, however, must not be mistaken for inevitability. The state is neither universal nor a higher stage⟳ of some sort⟳ of teleological evolutionary process⟳. Should other structures […] prove⟳ superior in structural capacity in a phase of stress⟳ and change⟳, and prove⟳ capable of acquiring sufficient legitimation, […] then the virtuous circle could conceivably be broken and the modern state superseded.”

“Successful social entrepreneurs go through a cycle of growth in several linked stages. At each stage⟳ they could fail⟳ and the organisation could go into decline⟳. […] We call⟳ this complete⟳ process⟳ the ‘virtuous circle of social capital’ because it starts with the inheritance of social capital and ends with the returns from the investment of social capital.”

“We can explain⟳ these differences in terms of a virtuous circle of positive feedback in response to market stimulus or a vicious circle of defensive and negative feedback that reinforced anti-market orientations associated with their administrative heritage before the advent of economic reforms.”

CEFR level