Saturday, June 7, 2025

Is There a "Right" to Housing?

This has become the new idea of progressives, now that a right to Gender reassignment and a right to your preferred pronouns is beginning to sink into the swamp of delusions.

What does "right " mean.  Rights in the traditional liberal sense were guarantees of protection from governmental abuse.  It was a negative statement. The government might be prohibited from blocking you from housing.  If you had an ax in 19th century America,  there were no obstacles to you wandering in a forest, cutting down a tree or two and building a house.  The owners of the land (Indian or white) might object but there was so much land that a squatter might go unhindered for a long time.

In the modern sense, those arguing for a "right" mean not a limitation on government power but a guarantee that the government will make sure everyone has shelter.  A Christian society (which in spite of progressive efforts, this still is) has some sort of fellow-feeling obligation, especially since the government-induced housing crash of 2008 is still impacting housing creation worldwide. 

But what level of obligation is that?  Throughout most of human history,  the best that you could expect was a tent and somewhere to pitch it.  It would keep rain off your blankets and food.  With a little care, body heat from your family will keep you from freezing in most climates.

Any duty to n provide housing above and beyond that level usually turns into an expectation thst reflects progressive middle-class sensibilities: not too many people sleeping in each room. Indoor plumbing.  Heat,  and A/C in Phoenix.  Strictly speaking,  A/C is a luxury.  Few places in America require A/C for life. Some years ago. I saw a politician in Los Angeles claim that cable TV was a basic human right!

I was watching a documentary about Victorian England.   Of course. Workhouses appear.  They were unpleasant but they provided shelter from the weather and very basic food.  Does the modern equivalent meet the standard of that right?  Shelter in a dormitory form for sleep.  Perhaps basic ingredients for cooking, utensils?

Think and discuss. 

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