System D is a manner of responding to challenges that require one to have the ability to think quickly, to adapt, and to improvise when getting a job done. The term is a direct translation of FrenchSystème D. The letterD refers to any one of the French nounsdébrouille,[1]débrouillardise[2] ordémerde (French slang). The verbssedébrouiller andsedémerder mean tomake do, tomanage, especially in an adverse situation. Basically, it refers to one's ability and need to be resourceful.[3]
InDown and Out in Paris and London,[4]George Orwell described the termdébrouillard as something the lowest-level kitchen workers, theplongeur, wanted to be called, indicating that they were people who would get the job done, no matter what.
The term System D gained wider popularity in the United States after appearing in the 2006 publication ofAnthony Bourdain'sThe Nasty Bits.[5] Bourdain references finding the term inNicolas Freeling's memoir,The Kitchen, about Freeling's years as a Grand Hotel cook in France.[6]
In recent literature on theinformal economy, System D is the growing share of the world's economy which makes up theunderground economy, which as of 2011[update] has a projected GDP of $10 trillion.[7][8][9] The informal economy is usually considered as one part of adual economy.[10]
The concept of dual economy is where the economy is divided into two parts: the formal and the informal. The formal economy consists of all economic activities that operate within the official legal framework and are regulated by the government. In common parlance, it is understood as enterprises and citizens who pay taxes on all generated incomes. The reason the informal economy is described as a DIY economy or System D is because of the self-reliance of the members within this sector. This is not to be confused withautarky or self-reliant economies. Rather, due to lack of documentation, such as proof of citizenship, tax ID number, proof of identity or proof of address, people working in this sector are usually left with no way to seek support from their governments. This means that they are unable to access formal institutions which require documentation and forces them to be self-reliant.
Economists define self-sufficiency or self-reliance at the individual or household level as the ability to accumulate and hold resources beyond those required to meet basic needs.[11] In the context of an informal, or a System D economy, this would not only include a person's financial resources but their ability to mobilize skills, talents, social relationships and networks as buffers against economic shock.[11]
There are a range of terms in other languages describing similar circumstances. Examples for those areTrick 17 [de] in German,Trick 77 inSwiss German,kikka kolmonen (Trick 3) in Finnish,'n boer maak 'n plan in Afrikaans,[12][self-published source?]to hack it in English,desenrascanço in EuropeanPortuguese,se virar in BrazilianPortuguese,Jugaad inUrdu,Hindi, andPunjabi,[13]jua kali inSwahili,[14]diskarte inTagalog[15] andarticle 15 in Congolese French.
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