Ruminations on the enshittification of South Africa

Aweh dearly beloved fellow ruminants & groupies

One self-imposed and unnecessary stressor in my life is what I’ve dubbed “blog stress.” The goal is to produce a weekly blog post, although some weeks are smoother sailing than others. Often, I find myself spending an inordinate amount of time ruminating over my topic, drafting and refining a first version, and striving for perfection in my writing. For instance, I had been planning to write another blog post on the concept of objective reality, and I had it all mapped out in my mind. Because I have the attention span of a goldfish and a disorganised mind sometimes something shinier and more interesting comes to my attention at the last minute. Consequently, there’s no time for meticulous writing and editing—I simply have to wing it. Today happens to be one of those days.

This morning, one of my loyal followers sent me an article on the notion of “enshittification” , a term coined by the writer Cory Doctorow and selected by the American Dialect Society as its word of the year. Doctorow applies this concept to social media platforms like Facebook, describing a four-stage process: initially, platforms cater to their users’ needs, then they exploit users to benefit their business customers, subsequently, they exploit those business customers to reclaim all value for themselves, and finally, they die. The linked article hilariously elucidates this process, and I couldn’t have explained it better myself. Doctorow suggests that we’re all experiencing a grand enshittening wherein the services we rely on and value are morphing into colossal heaps of shit. This trend isn’t confined to software platforms but extends globally—an era of global enshittening.

Last night, the South African president, Squirrel Rum, and Cola (credit to Rob Vega of Hot 102.7), delivered his lengthy, self-congratulatory annual State of the Nation Address. Fortunately, my life isn’t so sad and pathetic that I couldn’t find something better to do—like brushing my teeth—than endure the most tedious and nauseating speech on earth. I perused a summary this morning, learning that it was essentially an electioneering speech riddled with lengthy listicles of government achievements.

I was particularly impressed with the government achievement of 5000 MW of private sector rooftop solar PV installations by homes and businesses. The government achieved this by providing a maximum tax rebate of R15 000 for home solar installations. In February 2023 as we were enduring 6-10 hours of no electricity per day, we spent R190 000 to eliminate load shedding in our household. When one goes into the T&C’s one can only claim for 25% of the cost of the solar panels (to a limit of R15 000) and not the inverter, batteries, or installation costs. This is limited to the 2023/2024 tax year. Our solar panels cost R44 000 so a potential rebate of R11 000. Because I’m a provisional taxpayer and after completing my customary annual tax audit with SARS I may potentially receive this rebate in late 2025. Thus a 6% discount received more than 2 years after the expenditure was the determining factor in our decision to install a solar system. Full credit goes to the government for claiming this in their listicles of achievements. Of course, the installation had nothing to do with the collapse of electricity supply. And so, it goes on.

What is the South African four-stage enshittening process? I will try to provide a first attempt but dearly beloved readers I know vast improvement is possible with your help.

Here is my first stab:

1. Liberation from apartheid, reconciliation, and the introduction of a progressive constitution, along with fair measures to rectify past injustices in the interest of all South Africans.
2. The formation of a small, parasitic inner circle that benefits handsomely under the guise of rectifying past wrongs.
3. The exponential growth of needs and wealth within the insatiable parasitic inner circle, coupled with the use of cadre deployment as a patronage mechanism to reward loyalty. This leads to a depletion of funds for expenditure and maintenance on all state infrastructure and enterprises, resulting in the gradual, agonising collapse of government services—including electricity, water, sewage treatment, healthcare, and rail networks.
4. Will the parasite meet its demise? Will Stein’s law, which posits, “If something cannot go on forever, it will stop,” prove applicable? How long is “forever”?

On the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) South Coast, the water supply has collapsed. This area is merely a microcosm of the enshittification process. Could there be such a thing as terminal enshittification? How might this end? At present, the parasite bellows, “Feed me Seymour, feed me!” We’ve yet to sufficiently atone for past sins. Are we unwitting participants in a “Little Shop of Horrors” scenario? For those unfamiliar with the tale, I’ll offer a spoiler alert: things don’t end well for poor, gullible Seymour.

Is South Africa unique in experiencing this great enshittening? Could it be coming to a country near you?

I want to express my gratitude for all the ideas and comments received. I genuinely appreciate them, and please continue to share your thoughts.

Regards

Bruce