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People often ask what socialists mean when we say we want to "decommodify" housing.
Basically, we want to move away from a situation where most people access housing by purchasing it on the market & toward a situation where the state guarantees high-quality housing to all. (1/8)
Basically, we want to move away from a situation where most people access housing by purchasing it on the market & toward a situation where the state guarantees high-quality housing to all. (1/8)
Big Real Estate & the politicians they purchase want you to think that's a fantasy.
But in some places, it's a reality.
In Vienna, 62% of residents live in beautifully constructed social housing, with ample green space & vibrant community life. (2/8) https://www.huffpost.com/entry/vienna-affordable-housing-paradise_n_5b4e0b12e4b0b15aba88c7b0
But in some places, it's a reality.
In Vienna, 62% of residents live in beautifully constructed social housing, with ample green space & vibrant community life. (2/8) https://www.huffpost.com/entry/vienna-affordable-housing-paradise_n_5b4e0b12e4b0b15aba88c7b0
How do they do it?
One-third of all new apartments constructed every year in the city are funded by the government & commissioned by non-profit housing associations, funded by a mix of income & corporate taxes.
The result? Just compare the rents in Vienna to those in NYC: (3/8)
One-third of all new apartments constructed every year in the city are funded by the government & commissioned by non-profit housing associations, funded by a mix of income & corporate taxes.
The result? Just compare the rents in Vienna to those in NYC: (3/8)
It's because social housing is properly prioritized & adequately funded that it's of such high quality & in such high demand.
Compare that to the situation right now in Astoria, where NYCHA residents have gone months without heat & cooking gas with no resolution in sight. (4/8)
Compare that to the situation right now in Astoria, where NYCHA residents have gone months without heat & cooking gas with no resolution in sight. (4/8)
Unlike in the US, where public housing is treated as a means of warehousing the marginalized, Viennese social housing is available to all except the richest fifth or so of the population.
That means maintaining its quality has broad public appeal. (5/8) https://www.newstatesman.com/spotlight/housing/2019/09/housing-basic-human-right-vienna-model-social-housing
That means maintaining its quality has broad public appeal. (5/8) https://www.newstatesman.com/spotlight/housing/2019/09/housing-basic-human-right-vienna-model-social-housing
So who does Vienna have to thank for making "housing as a human right" a workable policy?
Not technocrats in corporate-funded think tanks or patronage appointees in city planning agencies.
It was the Marxist bloc of the ruling left-wing party from more than a century ago. (6/8)
Not technocrats in corporate-funded think tanks or patronage appointees in city planning agencies.
It was the Marxist bloc of the ruling left-wing party from more than a century ago. (6/8)
Now, this is only one example of an alternative housing framework, though others exist throughout the world.
And it isn't full decommodification. Residents still pay a significant share of their earnings in rent & a sizable chunk of the population lives in private housing. (7/8)
And it isn't full decommodification. Residents still pay a significant share of their earnings in rent & a sizable chunk of the population lives in private housing. (7/8)
But it's an actually-existing model of what a step toward decommodification could look like, one that is eminently possible here, if we had the political will to make it happen.
But first, we have to build the power of the multi-racial working class.
So let's get started. (8/8)
But first, we have to build the power of the multi-racial working class.
So let's get started. (8/8)
