What happens when our deeply ingrained ways of thinking and acting no longer match the world around us? Pierre Bourdieu, the French sociologist renowned for his analysis of power and inequality, described this situation with the concept of hysteresis. It is the mismatch between habitus—our embodied dispositions shaped by past conditions—and a rapidly changing social environment. In that gap lies both crisis and opportunity.
What is Hysteresis?
Hysteresis occurs when individuals or groups find themselves “out of sync” with their surroundings. Our habitus is formed slowly, through years of education, family life, and cultural exposure. It equips us with practical know-how for a certain social world. But when that world changes quickly—through economic upheaval, migration, or technological disruption—the dispositions we carry may no longer fit.
Think of workers trained for lifelong industrial jobs suddenly displaced by automation. Or migrants arriving in a new country, carrying expectations and behaviors shaped in a very different context. These are moments of hysteresis: the familiar instincts don’t deliver the expected results.
Why Hysteresis Matters
Bourdieu used hysteresis to explain both the inertia of social practices and the possibility of transformation. On the one hand, hysteresis shows why people often cling to outdated strategies even when conditions have shifted. A politician, for example, may continue appealing to voters with references that once resonated but now feel tone-deaf. On the other hand, the crisis of hysteresis can open up space for change. When existing dispositions no longer work, individuals may invent new practices or challenge established norms.
Everyday Examples
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Education: Students from disadvantaged backgrounds may enter universities whose expectations are unfamiliar. Their habitus, shaped by different schools or communities, doesn’t “fit,” creating disorientation but also the potential for new forms of cultural mixing.
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Technology: Older generations may struggle to adapt to digital platforms, relying on habits suited to face-to-face interaction. This mismatch highlights how quickly fields evolve compared to dispositions.
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Politics: Social movements often arise when a generation’s habitus collides with outdated political institutions, producing demands for reform or revolution.
Hysteresis in Today’s World
In a globalized, fast-moving society, hysteresis is increasingly common. Climate change forces rural communities to abandon long-established ways of farming. Digital disruption reshapes work faster than education systems can adapt. Rapid cultural change produces generational divides. By naming this gap, Bourdieu provides a tool for understanding why adaptation is uneven—and why social change is often so turbulent.
From Crisis to Possibility
Hysteresis is not just a sociological curiosity. It is a reminder that the alignment between individuals and their environments is always historical, never fixed. When habits fall behind, disorientation may follow—but so may innovation. By recognizing hysteresis, we can better grasp both the resilience of inequality and the openings through which new practices, new politics, and new forms of solidarity emerge.