The personal life of debt: coercion, subjectivity and inequality in Britain

Davey, Ryan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4965-5924 2025. The personal life of debt: coercion, subjectivity and inequality in Britain. Bristol University Press (Sociology line).

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Abstract

As the cost of living rises, British households face unprecedented levels of debt. But many commentators characterise those who stash away envelopes, leave telephones ringing, or hide from debt collectors as irresponsible. The first full-length ethnography of debt problems in Britain, this book uses long-term fieldwork on a southern English housing estate to give a sensitive retelling of the everyday lives of indebted people. It argues that the inequalities of debt go beyond economic questions to include the way state coercion hinders people’s efforts to define what they truly value. Indeed, from finance to housing and even parenthood, the potential for dispossession has become a pervasive method of power that strikes at the heart of personal life.

Item Type:	Book
Book Type:	Authored Book
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education)
Publisher:	Bristol University Press (Sociology line)
ISBN:	978-1529239423
Last Modified:	14 Feb 2025 16:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/174737

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