PRODUCING OVER-INDEBTEDNESS

Abstract

This paper sets out to show how, in recent years, governing authorities have responded to problematic personal debt through the emergent concept of ‘over-indebtedness’. As mainstream consumer credit has become progressively de-moralized, authoritative intervention now turns particular attention to problematizing the financial subject's freedom and autonomy, their ability to choose. The concept of over-indebtedness reveals that authorities acknowledge that the use of certain types of credit is essential for the pursuit and realization of individual consumer freedom. Nevertheless, it is also understood that certain risks potentially undermine that freedom by rendering credit consumption and other financial commitments unsustainable and un-repayable over the longer term. In response, authorities propose a range of responses to manage the risk of lost choice, including the promotion of individual financial capability and the implementation of market disclosure and responsible lending practices.

Keywords:

• debt
• over-indebtedness
• consumer credit
• consumption
• governmentality
• neoliberalism