What does dealing with irreversibility help to address?

Dealing with irreversibility addresses the inability to recover from past economic decisions because it emphasizes the consequences of decisions that cannot be reversed once they are made. In many economic and business contexts, certain investments or choices lead to sunk costs, where funds or resources have already been committed and cannot be retrieved. This concept is critical in assessing risk and making informed decisions, as it prompts businesses and individuals to carefully consider the long-term implications of their actions before proceeding, knowing that some decisions, once made, will have lasting effects that cannot be undone.

In contrast, addressing temporary impacts on consumer behavior, short-term financial cycles, or the success of current business models does not directly relate to the notion of irreversibility. While these concepts are important in their own right, they involve aspects of variability, recovery, and adaptation that are not tied to the permanent impacts of irreversible decisions.