System D

{{short description|Shorthand term}}

{{other uses}}

{{distinguish|systemd}}

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 French {{lang|fr|Système D}}. The letter D refers to any one of the French nouns {{Wikt-lang|fr|débrouille}},{{Cite web|url=http://www.languefrancaise.net/bob/detail.php?id=16975|title=Système D (Définition)}} {{Wikt-lang|fr|débrouillardise}}{{cite web |title=débrouillard |year=2009 |publisher=Webster's New World College Dictionary |access-date=2009-05-24 |url=http://www.yourdictionary.com/d-ebrouillard}} or {{Wikt-lang|fr|démerde}} (French slang). The verbs {{lang|fr|se débrouiller}} and {{lang|fr|se démerder}} mean to make do, to manage, especially in an adverse situation. Basically, it refers to one's ability and need to be resourceful.{{cite web |title=démerder {{!}} translate French to English |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/french-english/demerder |website=Cambridge Dictionary}}

In Down and Out in Paris and London,{{cite book|last=Orwell|first=George|author-link=George Orwell|title=Down and Out in Paris and London|year=1933|publisher=Victor Gollancz|location=London|isbn=0-15-626224-X|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/downoutinparisan00geor}} George Orwell described the term {{lang|fr|débrouillard}} as something the lowest-level kitchen workers, the {{Wikt-lang|fr|plongeur|plongeur}}, 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 of Anthony Bourdain's The Nasty Bits.{{cite book |last=Bourdain |first=Anthony |author-link=Anthony Bourdain |year=2006 |title=The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Usable Trim, Scraps, and Bones |location=New York |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=1-58234-451-5}} Bourdain references finding the term in Nicolas Freeling's memoir, The Kitchen, about Freeling's years as a Grand Hotel cook in France.{{cite book |author=Freeling, Nicolas |year=1970 |title=The Kitchen |publisher=Hamish Hamilton, Ltd. |asin=B0006D075O |author-link=Nicolas Freeling}}

In recent literature on the informal economy, System D is the growing share of the world's economy which makes up the underground economy, which {{As of|2011|lc=on}} has a projected GDP of $10 trillion.{{cite book |last=Neuwirth |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Neuwirth |year=2011 |title=Stealth of Nations: The Global Rise of the Informal Economy |location=New York |publisher=Pantheon |isbn=978-0-375-42489-2}}{{cite magazine|last=Capps |first=Robert |url=https://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/12/mf_neuwirth_qa/ |title=Why Black Market Entrepreneurs Matter to the World Economy |magazine=Wired |date=2011-12-16 |access-date=2012-03-26|archive-date=18 Sep 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120918153645/http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/12/mf_neuwirth_qa/}}{{cite magazine|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/10/28/black_market_global_economy |title=The Shadow Superpower |first=Robert |last=Neuwirth |authorlink=Robert Neuwirth |magazine=Foreign Policy |date=2011-10-28 |access-date=2012-03-26}} The informal economy is usually considered as one part of a dual economy.{{Cite web|url=https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/107673/1/819625760.pdf|title=The formal-informal economy dualism in a retrospective of economic thought since the 1940s|last=Clement|first=Christine|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}

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 with autarky 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.{{cite journal |last=Godfrey |first=Paul C. |title=What is Economic Self-Reliance |url=https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1152&context=esr |publisher=Brigham Young University |journal=ESR Review |volume=Spring 2008 |pages=4–7 |access-date=19 March 2025}} 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.