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Life in Debt: Times of Care and Violence in Neoliberal Chile. By Clara Han. University of California Press. 298pp, Pounds 44.95 and Pounds 18.95. ISBN 9780520272095 and 272101. Published 3 July 2012
Debt. Every day we are exposed to media accounts of the crushing consequences of debt for nations, for families and for individuals. National economies require growth, and growth depends on citizens consuming. During times of global recession and high unemployment, many must rely on credit to acquire their most basic needs. And in this timely work, debt serves as the central theme.
Clara Han skilfully guides us on an ethnographic journey deep into the realities of what has been championed as Chile's neoliberal economic "miracle". Through her, we come to know the residents of La Pincoya, a community living in poverty and living in debt, on the margins of the country's capital, Santiago. She lives with families in the community and comes to know the intimate lives of those who are struggling to survive in...