![]() This book argues that for our society to restore a human character to housing and to protect it as a basic right for all people, the state (on a global scale!) must transform and undermine the system of commodifying and financializing housing. The problem is that both affordable housing and luxury condominiums represent commodities, investments, and figments of complex, global financial arrangements that belie their material presence and the central role that basic housing plays in the lives of billions of people. The multimillion dollar apartments, however, were rarely occupied whereas the basic and affordable housing are a key factor in social cohesion, personal dignity, and the health of individuals and communities. Marcuse and Madden juxtapose the multimillion dollar luxury condominiums in New York and London with the need for basic, affordable housing in the same cities. For the authors, the contemporary housing crisis exists in the tension between housing as home and housing as a commodity. Madden’s In Defense of Housing: The Politics of Crisis(Verso 2016) is a elegant survey of issues facing housing on a global scale. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |