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

About this book

Runner-up for the 2026 BSA Philip Abrams Memorial Prize 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.

Details

Format

Paperback

ISBN-13

9781529239423

Publisher

Bristol University Press

Published

June 17, 2025

Pages

224

Weight

10.9 oz

Subject

Social Science