Housing and Property Ownership

Housing and Property Ownership


Concurrent with financial systems reform, discussed in a previous essay where equity sharing and not-for-profit equity investing would replace the current financial paradigm of for-profit equity investing, equity trading, and usurious credit arrangements, we need to evolve to a different system with respect to residential and other real property occupation arrangements.

In lieu of rent or leases, people should be allowed to acquire equity in their abodes and business properties. For example, in the case of an apartment, if one paid $500 per month to a property management firm, let's say $50 per month would go to property maintenance, and another $40 to administration fees, insurance, etc. This would leave the resident with $410 of accumulated equity added to their account each month. If we had a large cooperative housing organization (preferably world-wide, and preferably the only form of property ownership) then when someone had to move or wanted to move, they could take their equity with them to the new property.

With regards to mortgages, they are horribly usurious and should be banned. The scenario related above would also replace the current system of financing "home ownership loans".

A huge problem that we are facing now is the terrible inflation in the market values of real property (and capital assets, for that matter). If we pooled our equity, pooled our assets, and collectively wrote off our liabilities, then we could significantly write down the market values of real and capital assets.

Do you really think that in a capitalist society where profit is The driving force you can introduce a genuine not-for-profit equity?

Do you really think that banks would ban mortgages? Or governments would ban mortgages or banks?

How could equity be introduced without abolishing division of labour? without overthrowing capitalism and initiating an economic system where the means of production are of the community?

How do you think capitalism can be reformed into communism or something else which does not function in order to make profit?

I think that your reformism is not going to lead to any equity.

All the best

Cesco

Are you any relation to Costco?

How about Penny Pincho?

Seriously, now with all the knee jerk reactionary "leftist" response that I have gotten, I have changed my treatise to "Restructuring (Some, and I as well, say "Replacing Economic Systems".

Please do not confuse my social reformist qualities with my economic radicalism.

It is my dream that we will transition from Banks, Equity Trading, Insurance, loans, landlordism, warlordism, and any other form of financial or other exploitation and usury.

I am not naive.

It would be very ugly to overthrow the Governments which perpetuate Capitalism. It is my hope that we can do such in a bloodless manner.

Capitalism does not need to be "overthrown". Capitalism needs to be transitioned into Socialism. I am a Libertarian Socialist, an anarcho-syndicalist, if you will.

At risk of understatement, Marx was a brilliant man. However, the intelligence that we have garnered since his days is immense. We need to not only reallocate the resources relative to the ownership of the means of production and distribution, we also need to change the way we allocate resources amongst and within economic sectors. Also, we need to change the ways in which we allocate resources to and within communities.

With regards to your conclusion based on such a tiny example of my work, that my "reforms" will not lead to equity, I, too, am cynical.

Thank you for responding and giving me the chance to elaborate.

Peace.

Mike Morin

Hi Mike,

First of all, it's my pleasure to take part in this discussion. I am sorry but, I am not related with any warehouse club.

I am not doubting your good intentions here, but I have serious problems to believe that your way is suitable in changing society.

When you say "We need to allocate the resources" you are talking as and to rich entrepreneurs.

With “We” I am talking about the largest mass of people on Erath, who with their underpaid labour make a few people richer. Of course they do not have a direct control of resources in this capitalist society. How can they allocate those resources?

We both agree that this economic system is not working but we disagree on how to change it.

Many years have passed, but people living in the capitalist society are still divided into classes.

I think that your plans could function if the upper classes were interested in a socialist revolution. They are not! So what I see is an impossibility to achieve the ultimate target.

Probably you should write a letter to "the Economist".

Cesco

I understand completely.

What is your alternative plan of action?


Mike

About overthrowing capitalism?

Obviously it isn’t easy to answer in a few sentences.

However, I think that Pannekoek’s "Theses on the fight of the working class against capitalism" (1947) can do the job in a quite short and clear way.

"III The goal of the working class is liberation from exploitation. This goal is not reached and cannot be reached by a new directing and governing class substituting the bourgeoisie. It can only be realised by the workers themselves being master over production.

Mastery of the workers over production means, first, organisation of the work in every shop and enterprise by its personnel…It means, secondly, that the workers create their organs for combining the separate enterprises into an organised entirety of planned production. These organs are the workers’ councils

…The workers’ councils are the organs for practical action and fight of the working class; to the parties falls the task of the bolding up of its spiritual power. Their work forms an indispensable part in the self-liberation of the working class.

V. The strongest form of fight against the capitalist class is the strike. Strikes are necessary, ever again, against the capitalists’ tendency to increase their profits by lowering wages and increase the hours or the intensity of work.

…The right of the working class, under these circumstances, ever more takes the form of wild strikes. They are spontaneous, massal outbursts of the long suppressed spirit of resistance. They are direct actions in which the workers take their fight entirely into their own hands, leaving the Unions and their leaders outside."

Therefore:

set up workers' councils
coordinate those councils with each others
use wild strikes against capitalists attacks
move means of production to the workers
abolish division of labour

Marxist greetings

Cesco