Indebted nordmann: debt, homeownership and subjectivity

Norwegians are the most indebted population on the planet, and their indebtedness is largely driven by homeownership. We examine the historical trajectories of housing finance in Norway and its relation to the ideological apparatus of the state. We argue that by disciplining the population into ‘good’ debtors, the post-war social democratic state established the foundation for the centrality of debt in Norwegianness. Additionally, we contend that indebtedness plays a crucial role in social integration. The deregulation of housing and credit in the 1980s is examined as a breach of the social contract, undermining a fundamental pillar of the welfare system and eroding the right to housing. The increase in housing prices and household debt since that time has contributed to social inequality. However, by mediating the relationship between individuals and the state through banks and the ‘free market’, this is perceived as rational and objective conditions for competition. We then proceed to question what forms of subjectivity are accessible to those who reject debt, particularly by exploring the experiences of debt and homeownership within the Somali-Norwegian community, where the refusal of interest-based lending is prevalent due to moral prohibitions on interest, alongside experiences of systemic exclusion by banks.