What’s the problem?

Abstract

This country has a major housing problem. Yet housing has not figured as an important issue in recent political debates and manifestos, and the majority of people seem relatively content with their homes. The housing problem has not disappeared; it has been submerged. Many people still face severe difficulties in getting a house or live in unacceptable conditions. These same people in poor housing usually face other difficulties sometimes associated directly with their housing: illness and poor education for the children, or difficulties which reflect the unequal distribution of power and wealth within our society. In short, housing problems reflect the problems of capitalism, which accepts an underclass of the deprived.