Find the new article by Ydriss ZIANE, Senior Lecturer HDR at the Sorbonne Business School.
"What can we do with credit, if not risk it?"
The question posed by Jean-Paul Sartre in Le Diable et le Bon Dieu (The Devil and the Good Lord) in 1951 aptly illustrates the problem that drives every "homo consumericus" that we are, constrained by our purchasing power but also driven by our desire to buy and the strong temptations of the consumer society. The supply of goods and services, and of credit to finance them at all costs, is ever more abundant. Indebtedness is useful for financing a home or expensive equipment, as long as the balance between interest (or financial charges) and "living expenses" is assured and the borrower has accurate information. Nevertheless, overindebtedness has always been a major socio-economic issue. On an individual level first, the situation is often associated with a sense of failure and shame that leads some not to talk about it around them, or even to seek help from the public authorities.