I find a spinning top is a good analogy for the system. When it starts out initially, it operates fairly smoothly. Then problem start to accumulate over time, and it develops a wobble, and it just keep getting worse until the whole thing comes crashing down. We might be living through the end period now where the cumulative problems are just too great for a recovery to happen. Each time an economic crash happens, majority of the population is pushed to thinner margins because they are forced to use up their savings, let go of assets, and so on, to get through it. Meanwhile, people at the top see crashes as a Black Fridays where they can swoop in and buy up the assets for pennies on the dollar. Thus, each crash acts as a wealth transfer to the top. When the system recovers, the working majority ends up on thinner margins than before and in a worse position to weather the next crash. Eventually, things get to the point where most people simply can't make it through the crash, and the spinning top falls over.