Indebted societies: how private borrowing has become a substitute for social policy in rich democracies

When citizens encounter financial difficulties, they often turn to private borrowing on credit markets. As Andreas Wiedemann explains, this form of borrowing now increasingly acts as a support mechanism that complements the welfare state in rich democracies. But while credit markets and welfare states appear to fulfil similar functions, they follow different underlying logics, each with their own socio-economic and political consequences that shape and amplify insecurities, inequalities, and social solidarity.