Blackstone, Neoliberalism, and the Housing Crisis
01/31/25 • 28 min
David Harvey examines the relationship between wage repression, rising housing costs, and homelessness, presenting a stark critique of capitalist systems that prioritize speculative profits over meeting basic housing needs. He explores how inflation in housing markets, driven by financial speculation and companies like Blackstone, exacerbates economic inequality. Harvey critiques the Democratic Party’s failure to propose robust housing policies that address the needs of the 50% of Americans living on $30,000–$40,000 annually, emphasizing the irrationality of empty homes coexisting with widespread homelessness.
He advocates for housing as a non-speculative, accessible resource, suggesting municipal and cooperative housing initiatives instead of supporting profit-driven developers. Harvey calls for a reversal of neoliberal wage repression policies established since the 1980s, arguing that addressing wage inequality is critical to solving housing and inflation crises. He concludes by highlighting the lack of political will to address these systemic issues, noting that speculative housing markets and inadequate policies fuel inequality and social instability.
Stay connected with the latest news from Politics in Motion. Join our mailing list today: https://www.politicsinmotion.org
David Harvey's Anti-Capitalist Chronicles is co-produced by Politics in Motion. Politics In Motion is a nonprofit organization founded in May 2023 by Prof. David Harvey and Prof. Miguel Robles-Durán, along with Dr. Chris Caruso, instructional technologist, and noted writer and art curator Laura Raicovich. Our anti-capitalist media platform offers piercing insights and thought-provoking analyses on political, social, spatial, cultural, environmental and economic issues through a range of engaging mediums, including YouTube streams, podcasts, and live events.
If you would like to support this project and see more of Prof. Harvey, visit us at:
https://patreon.com/PoliticsinMotion
_______________________________________________________________
David Harvey's latest book "A Companion to Marx's Grundrisse" (Verso):
https://www.versobooks.com/products/2930-a-companion-to-marx-s-grundrisse
_______________________________________________________________
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#Trump #wages #inflation #capitalism
David Harvey examines the relationship between wage repression, rising housing costs, and homelessness, presenting a stark critique of capitalist systems that prioritize speculative profits over meeting basic housing needs. He explores how inflation in housing markets, driven by financial speculation and companies like Blackstone, exacerbates economic inequality. Harvey critiques the Democratic Party’s failure to propose robust housing policies that address the needs of the 50% of Americans living on $30,000–$40,000 annually, emphasizing the irrationality of empty homes coexisting with widespread homelessness.
He advocates for housing as a non-speculative, accessible resource, suggesting municipal and cooperative housing initiatives instead of supporting profit-driven developers. Harvey calls for a reversal of neoliberal wage repression policies established since the 1980s, arguing that addressing wage inequality is critical to solving housing and inflation crises. He concludes by highlighting the lack of political will to address these systemic issues, noting that speculative housing markets and inadequate policies fuel inequality and social instability.
Stay connected with the latest news from Politics in Motion. Join our mailing list today: https://www.politicsinmotion.org
David Harvey's Anti-Capitalist Chronicles is co-produced by Politics in Motion. Politics In Motion is a nonprofit organization founded in May 2023 by Prof. David Harvey and Prof. Miguel Robles-Durán, along with Dr. Chris Caruso, instructional technologist, and noted writer and art curator Laura Raicovich. Our anti-capitalist media platform offers piercing insights and thought-provoking analyses on political, social, spatial, cultural, environmental and economic issues through a range of engaging mediums, including YouTube streams, podcasts, and live events.
If you would like to support this project and see more of Prof. Harvey, visit us at:
https://patreon.com/PoliticsinMotion
_______________________________________________________________
David Harvey's latest book "A Companion to Marx's Grundrisse" (Verso):
https://www.versobooks.com/products/2930-a-companion-to-marx-s-grundrisse
_______________________________________________________________
Follow Politics in Motion:
Website: https://www.politicsinmotion.org
Patreon: https://patreon.com/PoliticsinMotion
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PoliticsInMotion
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/politicsinmotion
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@politicsinmotion
Twitter: https://twitter.com/politicsnmotion
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@politicsinmotion
Follow David Harvey:
Website: http://davidharvey.org
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/davidharvey.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/profdavidharvey
#Trump #wages #inflation #capitalism
Previous Episode
Trumpism vs. Wage Justice
David Harvey reflects on the challenges of addressing inflation and wage repression in the U.S., especially for the 50% of the population struggling to live on $30,000–$40,000 a year. He critiques the Democratic Party's failure to focus on the economic needs of this group, emphasizing that inflation, despite slowing, continues to affect them due to stagnant wages and rising price levels. Harvey advocates for a political program centered on wage augmentation, similar to recent union-negotiated wage increases, as a means to address economic instability. He highlights that tackling income inequality could create a more stable economic future, contrasting this approach with the instability of current political dynamics, particularly Trumpism.
Stay connected with the latest news from Politics in Motion. Join our mailing list today: https://www.politicsinmotion.org
David Harvey's Anti-Capitalist Chronicles is co-produced by Politics in Motion. Politics In Motion is a nonprofit organization founded in May 2023 by Prof. David Harvey and Prof. Miguel Robles-Durán, along with Dr. Chris Caruso, instructional technologist, and noted writer and art curator Laura Raicovich. Our anti-capitalist media platform offers piercing insights and thought-provoking analyses on political, social, spatial, cultural, environmental and economic issues through a range of engaging mediums, including YouTube streams, podcasts, and live events.
If you would like to support this project and see more of Prof. Harvey, visit us at:
https://patreon.com/PoliticsinMotion
_______________________________________________________________
David Harvey's lastest book "A Companion to Marx's Grundrisse" (Verso):
https://www.versobooks.com/products/2930-a-companion-to-marx-s-grundrisse
_______________________________________________________________
Follow Politics in Motion:
Website: https://www.politicsinmotion.org
Patreon: https://patreon.com/PoliticsinMotion
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PoliticsInMotion
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/politicsinmotion
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@politicsinmotion
Twitter: https://twitter.com/politicsnmotion
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Politics-in-Motion/100092557227878/
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@politicsinmotion
Follow David Harvey:
Website: http://davidharvey.org
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/davidharvey.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/profdavidharvey
Mastodon: https://sciences.social/@DavidHarvey
#Trump #wages #inflation #capitalism
David Harvey's Anti-Capitalist Chronicles - Blackstone, Neoliberalism, and the Housing Crisis
Transcript
David Harvey (00:02):
Hello and welcome to the Anti-Capitalist Chronicles. I'm David Harvey and apologies for the delay in resuming these podcasts today. I wanted to add to the podcast I did earlier about inflation and pay some attention to one specific form of inflation, which is housing prices and housing rents. Because this is the other big hue, which it turned out in the election, was something that was extremely bothersome and it led a lot of people to who vote trump back in rather
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