ABSTRACT
The goal of this chapter is to map the problem of dispossession, that is, the parting of people and their things that occurs at the end of the consumption cycle. As opposed to a focus on expenditure and accumulation, dispossession is one topic among a set that might be encompassed by the concept of dis-consumption, others being such matters as saving (consumption deferred), taxation (consumption diverted to public purpose), or philanthropy (consumption transferred to others). Because dispossession follows upon possession and because possession entails durations of time, the retention and release of belongings is intertwined with the running of the life course. Possessions support growth, maturation, and the role trajectories of life. They do so in ways that may be historically specific to successive cohorts. Their disposal can also be an intergenerational matter. With an eye to age-related features of this topic, the present discussion will address people’s motives for possession, occasions for dispossession, and the necessary labor of both.
