The crisis of capitalism has many expressions: new wars and inter-imperialist conflicts, environmental destruction, the growing chasm between rich and poor, the decline of science and culture, etc. One especially conspicuous symptom of capitalism’s failure is its inability to meet the basic human need for adequate housing, even in the wealthiest countries.
This article was taken from Issue #3 of The Communist.
Capitalist media sources are well aware that if the bookkeeping of the big housing developers and speculators were opened for the public eye to view, working class people would be far less inclined to accept the status quo. The ruling class wants to have their cake and eat it; the blurred lines between their profits and the ‘shortage’ of housing cannot stay that way indefinitely. As time marches forward and the profits continue to climb, the real state of affairs becomes clearer for the masses to see.
What is the reason for the housing crisis? “Basically we haven’t built enough” answers a capitalist economist interviewed by the Financial Times. A simple answer, but one that seems to contradict the facts. According to a study conducted by The Australia Institute, since September 2014, the number of residential dwellings has increased faster than the population, even including immigration. The ratio is in fact higher than pre-pandemic levels.
The Financial Times answers this paradox: “developers [are] often targeting wealthier households, exacerbating the strain on lower incomes”. To speak plainly, houses are being built, yes, but for the rich. The capitalists are building secondary residences for the rich, expensive hotels, or empty properties for speculation.
While the think tank economists are busy mystifying the economics that any literate worker can easily comprehend, the more proudly reactionary elements don’t shy away from using the housing crisis to further their racist, anti-immigrant agenda. The openly racist Pauline Hanson has been gaining traction regarding the housing question. One Nation’s policy on immigration reads as follows:
“Australia’s immigration system is broken. Our population has surged past 27 million, overwhelming housing, infrastructure, and essential services. Wages are stagnating, homeownership is slipping out of reach, and Australians are being forced to compete with cheap foreign labour.”
In reality, housing supply has outgrown the steadily rising population for the last decade, by 19% to 16% respectively. With this, the fact stands that there are more vacant homes than unhoused people in Australia, which is true for most other OECD countries. These assets should be seized without compensation and distributed to those most in need!
A seemingly last-ditch attempt from the Coalition, during the last election cycle, to appear as if they were acting decisively on the crisis, was to attack foreign investors. What voters shortly out was that foreign investment accounts for only 0.5-2% of the total residential housing stock. The blame therefore falls entirely to the Australian property magnates and their short-sighted greed.
The common thread between all these obfuscations is the working class being led to believe the wrong minority is the cause of their misfortune. The productive capacity exists in the world economy as it stands today to fulfil the demand. What is needed to solve the housing crisis is no less than the full expropriation of the parasites who speculate on what should be a right for all. Once the commanding heights of the economy are brought under the control of the workers themselves, the housing ‘shortage’ could be swept away like the flick of a bug. Shelter should not exist for the profits of the few!
Fight Labor!
Fight Hanson!
Fight the Coalition and the rich in their mansions!