Historians have long emphasized the importance of such “path dependence” – that events in the distant past continue to shape outcomes in the present. Yet they also point to exceptional windows in time when it is possible for societies to shift away from their established paths.
历史学家很早就开始强调这种“路径依赖”的重要性，即很久以前发生的事件会影响现在的结果。但他们也指出，时间具有神奇之窗，能让社会偏离已有路径。危机，即已有安排的活力出现问题之时，便是一种时间窗口。