In the midst of shame, guilt, needs and aspirations :|financial indebtedness of white-collar workers in İstanbul

Abstract

In Turkey, as elsewhere, statistics indicate a significant increase in household indebtedness since the beginning of the 2000s. This thesis focuses on experiences of indebtedness among a specific group, young white-collar workers, and is based on qualitative interviews conducted with twenty-one white-collar workers living and working in Istanbul. The study builds on and contributes to two strands of literature on indebtedness: the studies focusing on subjectivity and indebtedness and the studies examining the meanings associated with indebtedness. This thesis firstly argues that indebtedness is perceived as something that is needed to be justified and morally evaluated. It explores how debtors justify their indebtedness to deal with the shame, guilt and negative stigma concerning their indebtedness. It shows that the indebted narrate their experience of indebtedness over some binaries -reasonable debt vs. unreasonable debt and responsible debtor vs. irresponsible debtor- and justify their indebtedness by identifying themselves as responsible debtors who engage with reasonable debts. Secondly, the study argues that indebtedness is experienced around multiple and ambivalent feelings and meanings that go beyond shame and guilt which is much underlined in the literature. Several themes emerge around these multiple meanings attached to debt including, debt as a normal experience of life, debt as a burden, debt as a means of relief and happiness.