The Housing Monster

by Prole.Info

This scathing illustrated essay takes one seemingly simple, everyday thing—a house—and looks at the social relations that surround it. Starting with the construction site and the physical building of houses, the book slowly builds and links more and more issues together: from gentrification and city politics to gender roles and identity politics, from subcontracting and speculation to union contracts and negotiation, from individual belief, suffering, and resistance to structural division, necessity, and instability. Moving from intensely personal thoughts and interactions to large-scale political and economic forces, it reads alternately like a worker’s diary, a short story, a psychology of everyday life, a historical account, an introduction to Marxist critique of political economy, and an angry flyer someone would pass out on the street. Accompanied by clean black-and-white illustrations that are mocking, beautiful, and bleak, what starts out as an unassuming look at housing broadens into a critique of capitalism as a whole.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Class

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Zapato · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lo leí hace tiempo.

Prácticamente una guía ilustrada que a través del ejemplo de la vivienda, y siguiendola desde su construcción hasta el acceso o las condiciones en ellas, hace una radiografía del capitalismo en su conjunto y la lógica que lo rige. Muy recomendable para cualquiera que quiere formarse en eso o simplemente dar sentido a las miserias que vivimos para tener un puto techo. También, sin ser una novela de aventuras evidentemente, muy claro y accesible para la complejidad del tema que trata.

Si no le doy el 10 es por que su crítica a los sindicatos me parece errónea: no es capaz de distinguir la necesaria crítica a la estrategia sindicalista por su economicismo, parcialidad y tendencia a convertirse en mediadores entre las clases, y los sindicatos como herramienta para organizar la lucha de clases en algunos de los ámbitos en que esta se presenta de forma más inmediata (como el trabajo o la vivienda), herramientas que no tienen por que seguir una estrategia sindicalista sino que pueden estar al servicio de una estrategia integral que no separe lucha política y lucha económica.

[Clara Bricu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un ampli anàlisi de les relacions socials capitalistes. A partir de l'habitatge es desgrana tot l'entramat de relacions socials i econòmiques que construeixen el món capitalista.

Amb ganes de tornar-lo a llegir.

[şenay izne ayrıldı]

barınma gibi temel bir ihtiyacı temel alıp hepimizin yaşadığı kahredici düzeni güzel güzel görsellerle anlatmışlar. sonundaki sınıfsız bir toplumun gerekliliği biraz ütopik kalmış ama okunur. otonom yayınları da pek hoşmuş.

[Nacho · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a mildly interesting read. It delves a lot into the world of construction workers, while I was expecting a greater focus on the housing question under capitalism.

While it's well written and easy to read, and its contents promised so much (how the housing question relates to gender, class, work, to the law of value; how the cities are organised under capitalism and how it was tackled in the socialist countries...), I think it was poorly executed. It tries to cover too many topics in just a few pages, and as result only glosses over them, not making any significant contribution (except maybe when talking about how work is in the construction industry). The attempt at analysing the Soviet Union is incredibly weak, stating that the hope for socialism ended in 1921 and that it was "capitalism that didn't work properly".

I would love to read a book covering this topics that took its time to delve into each topic and did more than stating what is basic knowledge for anyone who has been even remotely interested in this before.

[Alma B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bona introducció a les bases de com funciona l'habitatge en el capitalisme, qui construix les cases, de qui son els solars, com son les relacions entre els treballadors, i entre els interesats en traure benefici d'això? A qui hem d'assenyalar quan denunciem que l'habitatge és un dret?

Lo millor: L'explicació detallada de com funciona el sector de la construcció
Lo pitjor: Un capitol concret sobre sindicalisme que al ser una traducció pot ser el context de com funciona un sindicat és molt distint, per tant no acabe d'entendre la crítica bé.

[Lucas Matthew]

First delve into anything resembling literature on economics, so I don't have much to say about it that would blow anyone's mind. It was interesting to read the chapter on the Soviet Union and its description as being a non-functioning capitalist economy rather than a socialist one like you always hear. I liked that it started off as a basic description of construction industry culture as a base to discuss relationships between laborers and the higher-ups; made it very easy to read.

Thought briefly about Andrew Yang's idea of implementing a sort of social currency while reading this book. There's lots of stuff we do day to day that don't yield a profit or capital, but still have inherent value. Cleaning your parents' house while they're at work, shoveling your neighbors' sidewalk, etc. don't fill your bank account but that social capital you amass is useful in a different sense. Maybe looking at good deeds as a way to profit off of in the future is more cynical than mind-blowing logic, but I see no reason someone should be looked down on for not having a job but instead using their time in other ways to do good for others. Food four thought.

Also the pictures were wonderful.

[marcel · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely compelling critique of the concept of housing as a free-market commodity, and eventually of capitalism in general. It describes the problem so well that really I feel it could be 5 stars but as it transitions towards the end to what should be done about the problem, no real coherent solution emerges. The book also fails to give a treatment of co-op housing as a possible avenue. (It does talk about state-subsidised schemes, but co-ops are not entirely state-subsidised and I think do alleviate some of the issues that arise from state housing, especially when these communities are mixed-income.)

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first two sections lay out an excellent example of the labor theory of value as defined by Marx (in a way that is much, much easier to digest than Capital). However the section afterward tends to be too brief and only vaguely touches on how this expands to capitalism as it relates to other areas. To be fair, this would make this a much longer read than what I’m assuming the author intended.

Overall a really good jumping in point for someone looking for the basics of Marxism, but pair it with some more substantial theory once you’ve got a good foundation!

[Anthony Mercando · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hey read this book instead of the Communist Manifesto it has better pictures.

Actually this is excellent at explaining the details of most current societies and the different ways workers are separated from their labors. It's especially good at explaining the interplay between capitalists as they exploit everyone, with the workers generally getting it from all sides. It also deals with the false solutions of government housing and subsidies overall, which is excellent.

[Jason Holland · Rating 3 out of 5]

really good. i would've liked a more in depth look at housing through an intersectional lens. there's barely any reference to how black people, poc, people with disabilities, and trans and queer people are disproportionately affected by the atrocious housing market.

[anthony P · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bloated and lacking direction. Much less an examination of housing than a list of market structures related to the construction industry and poorly summarized history of state intervention- honestly feels like a psyop

[Mireille G · Rating 4 out of 5]

read as part of a book club thing at work. it was a short, easy read. Puts a lot of things into perspective in terms of the instability of the economy, more specifically the inequalities within the labor force and how that can have an effect on the economy as a whole.

[Frederik · Rating 4 out of 5]

The recent real estate market crash, spurred by a toxic mortgage industry, was the most unequivocal fracture in the charming propaganda of the American Dream. At no time in recent history was it made so clear that the desire for homeownership, rooted in the very human need for home and shelter, was fodder for exploitation by cynical and self-serving profiteers. Yet as The Housing Monster persuasively argues, the obstacles to widespread homeownership have roots that go deeper than banking malpractice, right into the very structure of the capitalist real estate economy.

In a survey that encompasses the housing industry’s many aspects, from construction to property taxes and financing, The Housing Monster identifies a systematic pattern of exploitation – of construction labour, renters, and prospective home owners. Profit, of course, is the motive underlying the exploitation. Labour is encouraged to work faster and harder at the lowest possible wages to maximizee profits for the general contractor. Banks, as we have already seen, are driven to maximize revenue for shareholders. Governments make money from property taxes. The confluence of these and other factors conspire to encourage wage slavery and a division between profiteers and workers. (A surprising, but logical, conclusion drawn by the book’s authors is that the pervasive and seemingly unsolvable problem of homeless is not an error but rather a purposeful outcome that keeps homeowners locked into the economy that generates profits for the banks, corporations, and governments.)

The book does tend to gloss over important elements of the discussion, most notably architecture, which only receives a glib dismissal from a contractor’s point of view. But working as a stiletto rather than a machete, The Housing Monster cuts directly where it needs to, namely, at the commoditization of real estate and housing that perpetuates insecurity and economic inequality. It is a strong foundation for a serious discussion about economic and homeownership reform.

[Subvert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked it. It's an anti-authoritarian marxist critique about everything around housing. It's not just about gentrification, but truly everything around housing; from construction, to land speculation, the constant development, the living and usage, and all the cultural things that involve these topics, like working class ideology, trade unionism and its limits, communal and individual living, and the sexism of construction workers. And then all written in a short and accessible way. So there's perhaps not so much new for people that are already into radical literature, but there were still some parts that I never thought of before. Plus I always find it interesting to see how you can explain the necessity of anti-capitalist in an as short and simple as possible way for laypersons, as that is a skill that more of us should learn.

In the end it becomes more of a call-to-action, but the 'what is to be done' was slightly disappointing and a lot less clear than the rest of the book. I agree with the limits of trade union activism and loved how the limits of communal living was shown and the anarchist/squatter lifestyle was made fun of, but then it becomes a bit more disappointing that they themselves didn't have a clearer idea of what is to be done.

And with books like this I really wonder what impact they would have had on me if I had read them many years ago. I think this is one of the better introductions to radical politics that are around, much better on the structures of capitalism than the more romantic and lifestylist crime-thinc literature.

[Spicy T AKA Mr. Tea · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fairly in-depth look at the capitalist system through a Marxist lens surrounding the creation of houses, apartment blocks, and buildings with graphical illustrations to spice up the rather dry (at times) content. The voice of this piece was interesting. It wasn't coming from the experience of a specific worker or identified group of workers but rather an unidentified “we” who was supposed to constitute all construction and building workers. When totalities like this are used, it makes different or more just outcomes seem impossible, generally disregards other peoples' experiences, and casts gloom over the situation. This is the system. This is how it works. You cannot change it. Don't even try. The graphical illustrations were a nice distraction from the small font. Pieces of writing like this are always a bummer to read. The piece was clearly trying to outline and describe a system of exploitation but lacked a way forward. The authors did try to address a way of moving forward at the very end, but in my opinion, not successfully.

[Steev Hise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Essentially a marxist analysis of the housing and construction industries, but a modern one. Includes an erudite chapter on Soviet Russia and why it wasn't really communism but was in fact just another form of state capitalism.

In addition to the smart writing, the graphics are brilliant. Some of them I feel like blowing up into poster size and wheatpasting around town.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

A concise introduction to issues around housing; from construction work, to development and gentrification, to the role of housing in shaping communities and social interaction. Quick, accessible, and a fun graphic/illustration style to complement the text.