The geometry of global polycrisis: mapping epistemic injustice and multidimensional inequalities through polar coordinates

This paper develops a novel analytical framework to interpret the global polycrisis using the lenses of multidimensional inequalities and epistemic injustices. Moving beyond fragmented literature, we formalize an epistemological space by evolving from Hotelling’s linear and Salop’s circular models toward a spheroidal and volumetric representation. In this setting, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) act as exchange platforms tangent to the sphere, organized within a geodesic grid of meridians and parallels that define an epistemological North, Centre, and South. A key original contribution is the conceptualization of the commons as the sphere’s internal diameter, introducing epistemic depth as a systemic foundation to counter processes of predatory inclusion. By applying polar coordinates (θ, ϕ), the study tracks the historical evolution of crisis epicentres from the Dot-com bubble to the Covid-19 pandemic, demonstrating how uncoordinated interventions generate structural fractures and epistemic voids. We argue that social welfare is maximized through the directional diversity provided by Social and Solidarity Economy Organizations (SSEEOs), which operate within the system’s internal volume to bridge visible exchange platforms with the generative depth of the commons. This framework enhances long-term thinking by providing a precise tool for navigating the interconnected failures of modern global systems.