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I don't know where you're from, but it's generally known under the name "public housing" and is basically a gigantic success throughout many western countries. So much so, that its systematic demolition throughout the neoliberal glory-years of the 80/90s has caused serious housing crises throughout those countries, which we are now stuck with. Managing resources without a market is actually quite simple: you work out what people actually need, and what you have, and you divide what you have over the people that need it. This might sound weird because we're bringing it up in the context of housing, but it's something we do all the time everywhere. Some good examples here are: healthcare, insurance, infrastructure, military, utilities, public transport, science, education, etc. Basically anything your taxes go to is managed this way, its pretty boring stuff. Most of these things have long histories of socialist community-thinking that make them very obvious shared resources that are placed outside markets, but somehow housing missed the boat. This does not make housing significantly different in any way though: one can own a mansion just like one can own a Tesla, it does not prevent public housing or public transport from existing, nor does it adversely affect the market from profiting off luxury goods where common goods are freely available. The trouble is, a house is now a luxury, even though you can feel in your guts that this is just not true. The market effect on housing should decide the quality of house that you have, not whether you have a house at all. |