Deborah James. Money from nothing: indebtedness and aspiration in South Africa

Abstract

Resenha de Deborah James, Money from nothing: indebtednessand aspiration in South Africa. Stanford, StanfordUniversity Press, 2014. 304 pp.

Faking it or making it: the politics of consumption and the precariousness of social mobility in South Africa

“…Intriguingly, my interlocutors saw having access to ‘formal’ credit as one of the primary benefits (and dangers) of having a ‘proper job’. This is corroborated by other research that shows the most indebted are not the unemployed but the salaried in the ‘new middle classes’ (James 2015: 2). The young people I got to know saw debt as offering possibilities to acquire desirable goods while at the same time creating dangers and vulnerabilities.…”

“…Their views about debt varied, often quite significantly, depending on what the debt was being used for. A similar idea underlines the work of Clara Han (2012) and Deborah James (2015), who highlight how everyday debts are embedded in specific social, cultural, and moral orders. Taking on debt to buy groceries or pay for school or university fees, for example, was looked upon more favourably than a situation where debt was used for what were seen as more self-indulgent forms of consumption that included drinking at Motswako 'to impress people' .…”

“…He was. Deborah James has paid close attention to the use of the word ‘jealous’ in Black communities, which, she argues, is ‘commonly used to characterize both those who feel slighted by – and desirous to imitate – such status display’ (2015: 47). My point is that Senosi's disquiet about his neighbour's acquisition of a status symbol is not only an expression of jealousy but also an expression of the unstable links between consumption, status, and social class in South Africa.…”

“…The preoccupation with discerning the 'real' from the 'fake' manifested in endless speculation and gossip about who the legitimate owners of an expensive car were, if the car was loaned or bought, and, if bought, how the money was obtained. On several occasions, I was told that many of the expensive cars that line the streets on Saturday and Sunday were bought 'on credit' , emphasizing the link between growing indebtedness and the lifestyles of the Black middle class (James 2015;Makhulu 2017). One day during a conversation at the car wash stand, Setsumi, pointing at a blue BMW parked on the opposite side of the road, proclaimed that 'the car is actually owned by the bank' , insisting that one should not be fooled into thinking that a person driving an expensive car owns it.…”

“…That urban youth draw a link between the conspicuous consumption on display at Motswako and growing indebtedness, especially amongst the Black middle class, is not that surprising (James 2015; Makhulu 2017). South Africa is one of the most indebted countries in the world.…”