Normality-crisis cycle in the General Economic Theory of Strategizing (GETS)

The article is devoted to the development of the General Economic Theory of Strategizing (GETS) as a metatheoretical framework for analyzing the normality–crisis cycle. The research aims to substantiate a universal metalanguage for describing cyclical phenomena at the macro, micro, and individual levels by integrating the objective correlation between goals and means with the subjective perception of the actor. Within the GETS framework, two key matrices are proposed: the Goal-Means Commensurability Matrix, which systematizes nine distinct states (three types of equilibrium, three paradoxes, and three types of crises), and the Normality-Crisis Perception Matrix, which distinguishes between normality, a manifest crisis, a latent crisis, and a false crisis. The findings demonstrate the high explanatory power of this new toolkit. The matrices successfully offer a common metalanguage that allows reinterpretation of leading theories of the economic cycle: Neoclassical (as rational adaptation through equilibria and paradoxes), Keynesian (focusing on manifest demand crises and the liquidity trap), Austrian (the paradox of resource wastage and the latent crisis of unsupported ambitions), and Marxist (inherent internal contradictions of capitalism) from the perspective of aligning the specific goals and means of each school. The uniqueness of this approach is validated through empirical case studies: the entrepreneurial biography and illness of Steve Jobs (individual level), the history of Nokia's mobile business (micro level), and the dynamics of the United States' economic and geopolitical standing since 1991 (macro level). The study identifies a “blind spot” in traditional theories, which resides in the state of false crisis. The proposed matrices offer prospects for creating a holistic theory of strategic behavior under uncertainty and provide a synthesis of economics and strategic management.