system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Why does the economy have to be a series of bubbles and bursts/corrections, rather than a sustained gradual growth?
gpt
This is a good question.  The simplest answer is: we don't know.

There are two different aspects of recessions.  Firstly, there's the initial trigger or initial shock.  Economists have many ideas about how to deal with these shocks through fiscal policy or monetary policy.  But, it's often not clear why they occur in the first place.

Now, in some cases it is clear.  A war or a serious trade war, may cause a shock for example.  But, there is no accepted general theory of things like financial crises.  Many economists believe that a general theory is impossible because the causes are different in each case.

Some economists disagree and have theories they believe can explain the beginnings of crises and recessions.  There are several of these theories.  But, they aren't generally accepted.