Definition
When one group continually absorbs the toil of keeping a system alive so another group can move fast or claim success. The toil is a human subsidy paid by one group to the other. It often hides behind gratitude for “resilience” while masking extraction.
Ethotechnic practice flattens this by lowering the burden gradient and designing for stoppability so resilience is institutional, not personal.
APA
Ethotechnics Institute. (2026). Asymmetric sustaining. Ethotechnics glossary. https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/asymmetric-sustaining
MLA
Ethotechnics Institute. "Asymmetric sustaining." Ethotechnics glossary, 2026, https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/asymmetric-sustaining.
Chicago
Ethotechnics Institute. "Asymmetric sustaining." Ethotechnics glossary. Oct 6, 2026. https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/asymmetric-sustaining.
BibTeX
@misc{glossary_asymmetric-sustaining,
title={Asymmetric sustaining},
author={Ethotechnics Institute},
year={2026},
howpublished={Ethotechnics glossary},
url={https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/asymmetric-sustaining},
version={v1.17.1}
}
RIS
TY - WEB TI - Asymmetric sustaining AU - Ethotechnics Institute PY - 2026 UR - https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/asymmetric-sustaining ER -