“I choose to go without everything really”: Moral imperatives, economic choice and ageing

Abstract

Expectations for ageing well in later life are connected to, but not limited to, access to economic resources. This research investigates how older people of differing living standards reflect on choices made in the context of their everyday lives. In-depth interviews with 143 older New Zealanders revealed that claims to choice were a means of validating oneself as capable, able to manage the uncertainty of life, and able to cope as one ages. Examining the exercise of choice in relation to access to economic resources demonstrates the interplay between the moral, material and social aspects of managing self. Choice reflects the tangible possibilities that are inevitably situated in the context of certain material conditions of life that interact in complex ways with the representational claims that people make to a coherent and self-managing identity as an older person.