Quote:
Originally Posted by UnderseaLcpl
Is housing inherently affordable without capitalism? Is unaffordable housing even a problem? I can't afford a house, so I split a rental house with two others. That seems to be working out okay, at least until I have enough capital to buy one.
I'm curious though, as to what system you would like to see in its' place.
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Is housing inherently affordable without capitalism?
Yes, actually, provided that (a) there are enough houses for people to live in and (b) the population is fairly stable. Both of these are true in most (if not all) "western" nations. In fact, as has been pointed out in another thread, many European nations are reliant on immigration to keep the population in a state of equilibrium.
Once a house is built, the only "real" cost (i.e. material cost) associated with it is in it's upkeep.
Is unaffordable housing even a problem? I can't afford a house, so I split a rental house with two others. That seems to be working out okay, at least until I have enough capital to buy one.
If the house price trend had continued it would ultimately have led to a situation where normal people would have no hope of
ever affording a house (in fact it was starting to get that way already, at least here in the UK, and may yet end up getting there in spite of this hiccup). There would end up being a dividing line between the haves and the have-nots, with the former gradually accumulating all the properties and the latter funding that accumulation with rent, and the end result being a society split neatly in half. One "half" would be much bigger than the other, of course, and people in the big half (the have-nots) would effectively constitute a sub-class.
Renting might be fine for you now (I assume you're young and single) but would you be happy raising kids in a rented house, when that time comes? Would it be OK having to move your whole family to a new house on the whim/luck of your landlord? Not to mention the various law changes that are always going on with tenancy agreements (which could also result in you having to move unexpectedly) and the fact that you'd be piss-poor and have no chance of leaving your kids any inheritance.
When it comes to "settling down" most people want a place that's theirs so that they can tell themselves that, no matter what happens, that roof will stay over their heads. Of course there are no absolute guarantees in life, but that doesn't stop people wanting to get as close as they can to an absolute guarantee... and rent just isn't close enough for most, IMO.
I'm curious though, as to what system you would like to see in its' place.
I'm not anti-capitalist, I'm just not ultra-capitalist.