Consumer Credit in the United States
A Sociological Perspective from the 19th Century to the Present

Authors: D. Marron



The object and scope of this book is the development of marketed consumer credit within the United States from the mid decades of the nineteenth century up until the present day.

Table of contents (13 chapters)

Introduction

Fishing for Sharks and Governing Small Loans

Consuming by Installments: The Rise of Retail Credit

Assembling the Automobile, Reassembling Thrift

Mass Credit, Mass Society, and Their Discontents

Plastic Credit, Plastic Lifestyles

Credit Reporting and Consumer Surveillance

Risk and Technologies of Credit Scoring

Borrowing on the Fringe: The Fate of the Risky

Risk, Identity, and the Consumer

“See How Lenders See You”: From Actuarial to Subjective Governance

Securing the Self

Conclusion: Taking Life