Money, Debt and Finance: Reclaiming the Conditions of Possibility in Consumption Research

David M Evans; Nicky Gregson

doi:10.1177/00380385231156339

Money, Debt and Finance: Reclaiming the Conditions of Possibility in Consumption Research

David M Evans^*, Nicky Gregson

^*Corresponding author for this work

Cabot Institute for the Environment

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper provides an argument for why the sociology of consumption should be reorientated towards a money and finance sensibility. Proceeding from the observation that the rise of financialised capitalism has gone largely ignored in in the field, we suggest that the conditions of contemporary consumption – shaped by austerity, inflation, and an energy crisis – render this neglect untenable. In omitting money, the field not only elides its conditions of possibility but also abandons understanding of credit and consumer society to other fields that do not adequately acknowledge the dynamics of consumption. The paper offers: 1) an account of why money has been absent from the sociology of consumption; 2) an auto-archaeology of data from our previous studies of household consumption in the UK, but reinterpreted and read through the lens of money and finance; and 3) an indication of future research priorities and pathways for a reorientated sociology of consumption.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1491-1506
Number of pages	16
Journal	Sociology
Volume	57
Issue number	6
Early online date	5 Mar 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/00380385231156339
Publication status	Published - 1 Dec 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article: Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) grants: R000239972, R152251004, ES/L00514X/1, ES/W002639/1.

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2023.

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CenSoF: ESRC Centre for Sociodigital Futures
Halford, S. (Principal Investigator), Southerton, D. (Co-Investigator), Manchester, H. (Co-Investigator), Evans, D. M. (Co-Investigator), Watson, D. L. (Co-Investigator), Anderson, B. (Co-Investigator), Cater, K. F. (Co-Investigator), Carver, N. (Co-Investigator), Clarke, P. H. (Co-Investigator), Dermott, E. (Co-Investigator), Facer, K. (Co-Investigator), Hauert, S. (Co-Investigator), Liu, W. (Co-Investigator), Liveley, G. (Co-Investigator), McQuillan, D. (Co-Investigator), O'Kane, A. A. (Co-Investigator), Owen, R. (Co-Investigator), Parker, M. (Co-Investigator), Preist, C. W. (Co-Investigator), Schien, D. (Co-Investigator), Sriprakash, A. (Co-Investigator), Milivojevic, S. (Co-Investigator), Hussain, R. (Co-Investigator), Gutierrez Lopez, M. (Researcher), Cheilan, L. (Researcher), Thomas, L. M. (Researcher), Van Isacker, T. (Researcher), Valladares Celis, C. (Researcher), Atkins, E. (Student), Knight, E. W. (Student), Pykett, J. (Co-Investigator), Pitts, H. (Co-Investigator), Williamson, B. (Co-Investigator), Lagedamont, M. (Co-Investigator), Dowse, M. (Researcher), Brand, J. F. (Student), James, R. (Student), Okafo, D. (Student), Horsley, N. (Researcher), Jansen, A. H. (Administrator), Stevenson, T. P. (Other ), Hill, J. M. (Manager), Abu-Aisheh, R. (Researcher), Bo, H. (Researcher), Hemming, R. (Researcher), Huang, L. (Researcher) & Ward, K. J. (Other )
1/05/22 → 30/04/27
Project: Research, Parent

Cite this

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title = "Money, Debt and Finance: Reclaiming the Conditions of Possibility in Consumption Research",

abstract = "This paper provides an argument for why the sociology of consumption should be reorientated towards a money and finance sensibility. Proceeding from the observation that the rise of financialised capitalism has gone largely ignored in in the field, we suggest that the conditions of contemporary consumption – shaped by austerity, inflation, and an energy crisis – render this neglect untenable. In omitting money, the field not only elides its conditions of possibility but also abandons understanding of credit and consumer society to other fields that do not adequately acknowledge the dynamics of consumption. The paper offers: 1) an account of why money has been absent from the sociology of consumption; 2) an auto-archaeology of data from our previous studies of household consumption in the UK, but reinterpreted and read through the lens of money and finance; and 3) an indication of future research priorities and pathways for a reorientated sociology of consumption. ",

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PY - 2023/12/1

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N2 - This paper provides an argument for why the sociology of consumption should be reorientated towards a money and finance sensibility. Proceeding from the observation that the rise of financialised capitalism has gone largely ignored in in the field, we suggest that the conditions of contemporary consumption – shaped by austerity, inflation, and an energy crisis – render this neglect untenable. In omitting money, the field not only elides its conditions of possibility but also abandons understanding of credit and consumer society to other fields that do not adequately acknowledge the dynamics of consumption. The paper offers: 1) an account of why money has been absent from the sociology of consumption; 2) an auto-archaeology of data from our previous studies of household consumption in the UK, but reinterpreted and read through the lens of money and finance; and 3) an indication of future research priorities and pathways for a reorientated sociology of consumption.

AB - This paper provides an argument for why the sociology of consumption should be reorientated towards a money and finance sensibility. Proceeding from the observation that the rise of financialised capitalism has gone largely ignored in in the field, we suggest that the conditions of contemporary consumption – shaped by austerity, inflation, and an energy crisis – render this neglect untenable. In omitting money, the field not only elides its conditions of possibility but also abandons understanding of credit and consumer society to other fields that do not adequately acknowledge the dynamics of consumption. The paper offers: 1) an account of why money has been absent from the sociology of consumption; 2) an auto-archaeology of data from our previous studies of household consumption in the UK, but reinterpreted and read through the lens of money and finance; and 3) an indication of future research priorities and pathways for a reorientated sociology of consumption.

U2 - 10.1177/00380385231156339

DO - 10.1177/00380385231156339

M3 - Article (Academic Journal)

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VL - 57

SP - 1491

EP - 1506

JO - Sociology

JF - Sociology

IS - 6

ER -

Money, Debt and Finance: Reclaiming the Conditions of Possibility in Consumption Research

Abstract

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CenSoF: ESRC Centre for Sociodigital Futures

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