The aim of this article is to analyse the recurrence of economic crises in the 21st century and to indicate the key mechanisms of their formation and course. In particular, the consequences of countercyclical policy are analysed, which – although it stabilises the economy in the short term – leads to the growth of public and private debt, increasing the risk of further crises. We adopt a perspective integrating economics, social sciences and political science, arguing that crisis phenomena are not exclusively the effect of macroeconomic factors, but also result from the emotional and institutional reactions of societies and their external conditions. All model approaches to the business cycle and model methods of counteracting economic crises fail. Economic policy must increasingly rely on microeconomic management, which gives economies antifragility and resilience. Macroeconomics must increasingly refer to contextual analysis and natural experiments. In this article, we use model analysis and empirical research covering the period 2000–2023 and 22 European countries belonging to the OECD.