Nowadays it seems as if all we talk about are various overlapping crises. There is the climate crisis, the unemployment crisis, the cost-of-living crisis, the fiscal crisis.
At the beginning of this year, the World Economic Forum declared that we are on the brink of a “polycrisis”, a term coined in the 1990s but which has recently been used by economists to describe the current global predicament.
Economic historian Adam Tooze has characterised this period as the experience of a number of crises — with no single, clearly-defined logic — piling up on one another to create an overwhelming situation in the minds of policymakers and the public.
Perhaps the main feature of the polycrisis is that it is global. Its ripples can be felt at a Tesco in the United Kingdom, in an Amazon warehouse in the US, at the Rafah Border Crossing between Gaza and Egypt and in Fietas, a few kilometres from the Mail & Guardian’s offices.
While the repeated use of the word crisis should inspire urgency, it should never create panic. Cool heads must prevail, because the policy choices that are made today will echo throughout history.
This brings us to one “crisis” that has become a stubborn feature of South Africa’s public discourse: the fiscal crisis, a concept which the M&G unpacks in the most recent instalment of The Fiscal Cliff.
After talking to economists and reading Duma Gqubule’s always-incisive work on the subject, it’s clear that — while our fiscal predicament isn’t a good one — our policymakers still have the privilege of being able to make choices that will benefit, rather than hurt South Africans. And if they are driven by a desire to forge a more equitable future, they will find a way.
As always, we hope this monthly series gives you a more nuanced picture of the country’s fiscal position — and encourages you to take keener interest in budget decisions.
Sarah Smit | Economics editor @Sarah____Smit