Homeownership Under Capitalism is False Liberation

OldBillBlizzard || It’s a financial huge burden to the individual who owns it if theyre working class. Making repairs on your own is incredibly expensive. If you dont have an income surplus then youre often forced to get more loans for the repairs, adding to overall debt.

In syndicalist Spain, structural home repairs were not the burden of the individual alone. The union would help each member improve their home.

It creates mental slavery to capitalism because many homeowners associate the autonomy the home gives them with the capitalist system itself. They think “if we abolish private property i will lose my home, and thus i must defend private property.” What they misunderstand is that under anarcho communism their home is their personal property and they cannot be dispossessed from it by the community or any other individual due the usufruct system.

For instance even individuals who refused to work with the collectives in spain were allowed to keep their home. The only downside was that the individual didnt get other benefits of the collective; free healthcare, food etc. But their home was theirs no matter what.

Under capitalism, if you don’t work for the corporate hierarchy, then the state comes for your home. Thus the individuals home is far less secure under the capitalist system of private property.

The only way for the worker to improve their bargaining power under capitalism is to own a home outright with no debt, and so this system re-creates a softer version of Roman slavery, where anyone who wants to be free, must essentially purchase their freedom.

Even after home owners pay off their debt, they have to pay property taxes. The state then becomes their new landlord.

Owning a home is a privilege under capitalism, and its much better than renting, but its a golden handcuff and intellectual handcuff. Its ultimately a scam meant to create the false illusion of freedom.