Portfolio Society​, Ivan Ascher

"The fact of this transformation-the fact, that is, that financial markets now appear as a force of their own while simultaneously mediating an increasing range of social relations-is incontrovertible."

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"But her promises, somehow, are deemed more credible than those of many of her borrowers, and this for the simple reason that she can point to the carefully diversified nature of her portfolio. And thus, sure enough, Moneybags can not only borrow money on financial markets, but lend it anew, potentially repeating the process ad infinitum." ​ p. 76

"After all, just as the worker is likely to see her wage diminish or disappear altogether if she is deemed less productive than others, the borrower whose credit history shows him to be less "safe" than another is likely to be saddled with fines or commensurably higher interest rates-if his loan application is not purely and simply denied." ​ p. 98

"It would seem to be a division between those whose lives keep placing them at risk and having thus to seek protection (say, in the form of a loan or an insurance policy) and those whose position of relative security, by contrast, gives them the opportunity to take risks-say, by lending to others or betting on their probability of default." ​ p. 124