The Personal Life of Debt : Coercion, Subjectivity and Inequality in Britain.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Davey, Ryan, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Debt--Social aspects--Great Britain.

Debt.

Debtor and creditor--Great Britain.

Debtor and creditor.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (217 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Bristol : Bristol University Press, 2025.

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

This book explores the personal and societal impacts of debt in Britain, focusing on the experiences of individuals and families living on housing estates. It examines how debt influences subjectivity, social inequality, and coercion, highlighting the role of financial institutions, landlords, and social services in enforcing debts and evictions. The author investigates the psychological toll of indebtedness, including anxiety and distress, and critiques the systems that perpetuate economic disparity. Drawing on ethnographic narratives, the book aims to illuminate the challenges faced by those navigating precarious financial situations and the broader implications for societal inequality and governance. Intended for scholars and policymakers, it provides an in-depth analysis of debt as a social phenomenon and its intersections with housing, family dynamics, and state interventions. Generated by AI.

Contents:

Front Cover

Half Title

The Personal Life of Debt: Coercion, Subjectivity and Inequality in Britain

Copyright Page

Table of Contents

Introduction

Debt beyond reciprocity: new possibilities in the anthropology of debt

Expropriability: coercion, inequality and the struggle for value

Defensive optimism: the subjectivities of debt and expropriability

Methods

Chapter outline

Interlude 1: Economic Life and Social Distinction in Woldham

Part I Expressions of Indebtedness

1 ‘You Can’t Argue with Them’: Debt and the Struggle over Value

Working-​class credit

‘I’m in debt’: the purgative approach of debt advice

Debtors in Woldham

‘On the never-​never’

‘Wave your magic Wonga wand’: amoral humour and ambivalent struggles over value

Conclusion

2 Making Debt into an Object: The Work of Debt Advisers

Debt advice and enumeration

Standardizing knowledge of debt: the Common Financial Statement

Advisers’ unofficial views

Moral evaluations and technical knowledge

Coercive realizations

Interlude 2: Debt and the Household

Part II Prospects of Expropriation

3 Unsettled Homes: The Interruptible Futures and Violable Spaces of Rented Housing Generated by AI.

Notes:

This eBook is made available Open Access under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Part of the metadata in this record was created by AI, based on the text of the resource.

ISBN:

1-5292-3944-3

OCLC:

1519988263