u/xena_lawless

If you're interested in improving housing systems and housing policies, in building sustainable working class power for the long term, or even in just better understanding how power works in general, I highly recommend it.

People don't appreciate the full extent to which landlords have dominated, crippled, and limited the public's understanding, options, resources, and thinking around housing systems and housing policies.

The landlords have been so successful in getting their interests baked into the status quo, that people think that housing/unhousing systems and policies designed specifically to serve landlords' interests are due to neutral "market forces", rather than being the deliberate products of power and class conflict.

Landlords have been using their power to steamroll the public, to create and maintain homelessness as a threat (by lobbying against public housing options and new construction), and to force the public into conditions of maximal and frictionless exploitability to maximize their profits and rents, without any pushback whatsoever, for far too long.

So the book challenges many of the latent assumptions, thinking, and policies that the landlords have gotten the public to accept in the status quo, uncritically, often without awareness let alone any pushback.

The authors advocate for tenants' unions as a valuable and necessary community resource, and a countervailing power to landlords.

Without building and harnessing countervailing power, the public (including tenants and the unhoused) will be unlikely to be able to see or think clearly, let alone advocate effectively for more sensible and just housing systems and policies that actually meet the public's needs.

For one example of what collective power can accomplish, when NYS Tenants Bloc and Housing Justice for All got tenants to realize that they comprised a majority in NYC, they were able to mobilize to help Mamdani get elected to freeze the rent and control housing costs.

Obviously, landlords don't want the public realizing what can be accomplished with collective power and understanding.

They want the public to be and behave as atomized serfs, with crippled and limited understanding and imaginations, who think that they're powerless.

Those are the conditions that maximize the public's exploitability, and accordingly the landlords' profits and rents.

So this book is at or near the top of the list of the books that landlords don't want the general public to read, think about, or understand.

I highly recommend reading it, and supporting/growing your local tenants' union :)

If you're interested in improving housing systems and housing policy, in building sustainable public and working class power for the long term, or even in better understanding how power works in general, I highly recommend it.

The landlords have been steamrolling the public, creating and maintaining homelessness by lobbying against public options and additional construction (because lack of options for the public is what maximizes their profits and rents), and forcing the public into conditions of maximum and frictionless exploitability, without any pushback whatsoever, for way too long.

The public (including tenants and unhoused people) needs to build sustainable countervailing power to the landlords in order to even see and think clearly about the situation, let alone fight back against abuse and exploitation.

Without countervailing power, people won't even be able to see or think clearly about the situation, because their options and understanding will be too constrained by power, as they're atomized and forced into conditions of maximum and frictionless exploitability.

As one example of what can be done with collective power, when tenants in NYC realized they were in the majority, they helped get Mamdani elected to freeze the rent and control housing costs.

With collective power, a lot can be done in a relatively short amount of time, which is one of the many, many things that the landlords don't want the public to know.

The reality is that the landlords' ruthless exploitation and abuse of the public will continue until the public builds up the power and understanding to stop them. (Power concedes nothing without a demand.)

But if enough of us build power, understanding, and solidarity, and stand up and fight, then we can significantly improve the situation for both ourselves and future generations.

We can create a much better situation than everyone living like atomized serfs, who think that maximum and frictionless abuse and exploitation by the landlords is somehow normal and acceptable.

So I highly recommend reading the book, and getting involved in, supporting, making use of, and growing your local tenants' union in whatever ways you're able.

If you're interested in improving housing systems and housing policy, building sustainable working class power for the long term, and even in just better understanding how power works, I highly recommend it.

If you're interested in improving housing systems and housing policy, building sustainable working class power for the long term, or even in better understanding how power works in general, I highly recommend it.

People are sleeping on the value and potential of tenants' unions as a countervailing power to the landlords.

The landlords have been steamrolling the public, creating and profiting from the threat of homelessness (which they help create and maintain through lobbying), and forcing the public into conditions of maximum and frictionless exploitability, with no pushback whatsoever, for way too long.

The landlords have been super successful in getting their interests baked into housing systems and housing policy. To a point that people think that housing systems and policies specifically designed to serve landlords' interests, are due to abstract and impersonal "market forces," rather than being deliberate products of power and class conflict.

So tenants' unions are an important countervailing power to the landlords for people to be able to even see or think clearly.

Tenants' unions also have some potential scale and solidarity advantages. Whereas labor and trade unions might be limited to certain companies or industries (Wobblies aside), everyone needs housing.

For example, when tenants in NYC realized they were in the majority and could translate that into political power, they helped elect Mamdani to freeze the rent and control housing costs.

So if you're interested in fighting back against the landlords' total domination of the public's thinking around housing systems and housing policies, read Abolish Rent! and support your local tenants' union :)

If you're interested in improving housing systems and housing policy, in building sustainable working class power for the long term, or even just in better understanding how power works in general, I highly recommend it.

People are sleeping on the value and potential of tenants' unions as a countervailing power to the landlords.

The landlords have been steamrolling the public, creating and profiting from the threat of homelessness (which they help create and maintain through lobbying), and forcing the public into conditions of maximum and frictionless exploitability, without any pushback whatsoever, for way too long.

The landlords have been super successful in getting their interests baked into housing systems and housing policy. To a point that people think that housing policies and systems specifically designed to serve the landlords' interests, are in place due to impersonal and abstract "market forces", rather than being the deliberate products of power, and class conflict.

So tenants unions are an important countervailing power to the landlords, to get people to be able to even see or think clearly.

Tenants' unions also have some potential scale and solidarity advantages. While labor or trade unions might be limited to a particular company or industry (Wobblies aside), everyone needs housing.

For example, once tenants in NYC realized they were in the majority, they helped Mamdani get elected to freeze the rent and control housing costs.

So if you're interested in fighting back against the landlords' total domination of the public's thinking around housing systems and housing policy, read Abolish Rent! and support your local tenants' union :)

If you're interested in improving housing systems and housing policy, building sustainable working class power for the long term, or even in better understanding how power works in general, I highly recommend it.

I wrote a longer review in other subreddits, but reddit's filters take it down if I copy/paste it.

If you're interested in improving housing systems and housing policy, building sustainable working class power over the long term, and even better understanding how power works, I highly recommend this book.

I posted a longer review in some other subreddits, but it'll be screened by reddit's filters if I copy/paste it here.

Why I highly recommend this book:

Power and the public's "mental real estate"

Before reading this book, I already had a good understanding of how power works, at least in the abstract.

One way that power works, is that the powerful do what they can to control and limit the public's thinking, understanding, imagination, power, options, solidarity, etc.

Because when the public are dumbed down, atomized, subjugated, unimaginative, and believe that they're powerless, those are the conditions that maximize exploitability, and accordingly, profits.

But despite understanding how power works in the abstract, whenever I find a specific example of how my own thinking and understanding has been constrained by power, it's still a revelation and a breath of fresh air.

That was my experience reading Abolish Rent by Tracy Rosenthal and Leonardo Vilchis, two co-founders of the LA Tenants' Union.

Obviously, the landlords have (and have had) incredible influence over the media, politicians, and the economics profession over time, and that has allowed them to constrain the public's thinking, understanding, and options when it comes to housing/unhousing systems.

That's a big part of how they've been able to steamroll the public and force people into conditions of maximum exploitability under the guise of the so-called "free market".

This book is a powerful and enlightening reminder that the housing/unhousing system and housing relations are products of power, and of class struggle, and are not just due to abstract and impersonal "market conditions".

That's exactly the power and understanding that the landlords don't want the public to have, because they want to create and maintain conditions of maximum and frictionless exploitability.

Which is a great reason for the public to gain exactly that power and understanding.

Abolish Rent is an excellent resource for the public to reclaim mental real estate, and to gain/reclaim power, understanding, and perspective that the landlords don't want people to have.

The book is worth reading even for just the breath of fresh air from all the reclaimed mental real estate.

The value, power, and necessity of tenants' unions

Abolish Rent also opened my eyes to the value and revolutionary potential of tenants' unions in building working class power, community, and solidarity.

Whereas labor unions and trade unions tend to be split up by companies and industries (Wobblies aside), tenants' unions naturally have broad appeal and fewer barriers to entry, because everyone needs housing.

I believe every major city would benefit from having a powerful tenants' union, both as a structural, renewable, scalable source of public/community power, and as an excellent and necessary community resource.

As I said above, landlords want the public to be stupid, because that maximizes the public's exploitability, and accordingly, profits and rents.

But landlords also want the public to be atomized, and to think that they're powerless individuals unable to resist or fight against their own exploitation.

As a practical example of the collective power that landlords are scared of, [when tenants in NYC realized they were in the majority, they helped elect Mamdani to freeze the rent and control housing costs.](https://convergencemag.com/articles/surround-sound-communications-how-to-build-a-narrative-machine/)

Power and imagination

Do you feel that fresh breeze of renewed possibility from Mamdani's election?

It's because people's imaginations tend to be constrained by political power.

People tend to think about what's possible in terms of what's possible right now.

But by building out and gaining political power, a lot more becomes possible, and easier to imagine, over time.

To create a more just future, the public needs to build out countervailing power to the landlords' political power, and their total domination of the public's thinking around housing, and housing/unhousing systems and policies.

Building out powerful tenants' unions, city by city, is an effective way for the working class to build power over the long term, and accordingly to imagine an increasingly better and more just future for themselves and future generations.

As AI and technological unemployment become increasingly real concerns for millions of people, it will become all the more important for the public to build out real, sustainable political power, to lower the so-called "cost of living", and to create more just and equitable housing systems for everyone.

Many thanks to Tracy Rosenthal, Leonardo Vilchis, and the LA Tenants' Union for writing this book, and Haymarket Books for publishing!

Do yourself and everyone a favor, and read Abolish Rent!

https://tracyrosenthal.com/

Why I highly recommend this book:

Power and the public's "mental real estate"

Before reading this book, I already had a good understanding of how power works, at least in the abstract.

One way that power works, is that the powerful do what they can to control and limit the public's thinking, understanding, imagination, power, options, solidarity, etc.

Because when the public are dumbed down, atomized, subjugated, unimaginative, and believe that they're powerless, those are the conditions that maximize exploitability, and accordingly, profits.

But despite understanding how power works in the abstract, whenever I find a specific example of how my own thinking and understanding has been constrained by power, it's still a revelation and a breath of fresh air.

That was my experience reading Abolish Rent by Tracy Rosenthal and Leonardo Vilchis, two co-founders of the LA Tenants' Union.

Obviously, the landlords have (and have had) incredible influence over the media, politicians, and the economics profession over time, and that has allowed them to constrain the public's thinking, understanding, and options when it comes to housing/unhousing systems.

That's a big part of how they've been able to steamroll the public and force people into conditions of maximum exploitability under the guise of the so-called "free market".

This book is a powerful and enlightening reminder that the housing/unhousing system and housing relations are products of power, and of class struggle, and are not just due to abstract and impersonal "market conditions".

That's exactly the power and understanding that the landlords don't want the public to have, because they want to create and maintain conditions of maximum and frictionless exploitability.

Which is a great reason for the public to gain exactly that power and understanding.

Abolish Rent is an excellent resource for the public to reclaim mental real estate, and to gain/reclaim power, understanding, and perspective that the landlords don't want people to have.

The book is worth reading even for just the breath of fresh air from all the reclaimed mental real estate.

The value, power, and necessity of tenants' unions

Abolish Rent also opened my eyes to the value and revolutionary potential of tenants' unions in building working class power, community, and solidarity.

Whereas labor unions and trade unions tend to be split up by companies and industries (Wobblies aside), tenants' unions naturally have broad appeal and fewer barriers to entry, because everyone needs housing.

I believe every major city would benefit from having a powerful tenants' union, both as a structural, renewable, scalable source of public/community power, and as an excellent and necessary community resource.

As I said above, landlords want the public to be stupid, because that maximizes the public's exploitability, and accordingly, profits and rents.

But landlords also want the public to be atomized, and to think that they're powerless individuals unable to resist or fight against their own exploitation.

As a practical example of the collective power that landlords are scared of, [when tenants in NYC realized they were in the majority, they helped elect Mamdani to freeze the rent and control housing costs.](https://convergencemag.com/articles/surround-sound-communications-how-to-build-a-narrative-machine/)

Power and imagination

Do you feel that fresh breeze of renewed possibility from Mamdani's election?

It's because people's imaginations tend to be constrained by political power.

People tend to think about what's possible in terms of what's possible right now.

But by building out and gaining political power, a lot more becomes possible, and easier to imagine, over time.

To create a more just future, the public needs to build out countervailing power to the landlords' political power, and their total domination of the public's thinking around housing, and housing/unhousing systems and policies.

Building out powerful tenants' unions, city by city, is an effective way for the working class to build power over the long term, and accordingly to imagine an increasingly better and more just future for themselves and future generations.

As AI and technological unemployment become increasingly real concerns for millions of people, it will become all the more important for the public to build out real, sustainable political power, to lower the so-called "cost of living", and to create more just and equitable housing systems for everyone.

Many thanks to Tracy Rosenthal, Leonardo Vilchis, and the LA Tenants' Union for writing this book, and Haymarket Books for publishing!

Do yourself and everyone a favor, and read Abolish Rent!

https://tracyrosenthal.com/

Why I highly recommend this book:

Power and the public's "mental real estate"

Before reading this book, I already had a good understanding of how power works, at least in the abstract.

One way that power works, is that the powerful do what they can to control and limit the public's thinking, understanding, imagination, power, options, solidarity, etc.

Because when the public are dumbed down, atomized, subjugated, unimaginative, and believe that they're powerless, those are the conditions that maximize exploitability, and accordingly, profits.

But despite understanding how power works in the abstract, whenever I find a specific example of how my own thinking and understanding has been constrained by power, it's still a revelation and a breath of fresh air.

That was my experience reading Abolish Rent by Tracy Rosenthal and Leonardo Vilchis, two co-founders of the LA Tenants' Union.

Obviously, the landlords have (and have had) incredible influence over the media, politicians, and the economics profession over time, and that has allowed them to constrain the public's thinking, understanding, and options when it comes to housing/unhousing systems.

That's a big part of how they've been able to steamroll the public and force people into conditions of maximum exploitability under the guise of the so-called "free market".

This book is a powerful and enlightening reminder that the housing/unhousing system and housing relations are products of power, and of class struggle, and are not just due to abstract and impersonal "market conditions".

That's exactly the power and understanding that the landlords don't want the public to have, because they want to create and maintain conditions of maximum and frictionless exploitability.

Which is a great reason for the public to gain exactly that power and understanding.

Abolish Rent is an excellent resource for the public to reclaim mental real estate, and to gain/reclaim power, understanding, and perspective that the landlords don't want people to have.

The book is worth reading even for just the breath of fresh air from all the reclaimed mental real estate.

The value, power, and necessity of tenants' unions

Abolish Rent also opened my eyes to the value and revolutionary potential of tenants' unions in building working class power, community, and solidarity.

Whereas labor unions and trade unions tend to be split up by companies and industries (Wobblies aside), tenants' unions naturally have broad appeal and fewer barriers to entry, because everyone needs housing.

I believe every major city would benefit from having a powerful tenants' union, both as a structural, renewable, scalable source of public/community power, and as an excellent and necessary community resource.

As I said above, landlords want the public to be stupid, because that maximizes the public's exploitability, and accordingly, profits and rents.

But landlords also want the public to be atomized, and to think that they're powerless individuals unable to resist or fight against their own exploitation.

As a practical example of the collective power that landlords are scared of, when tenants in NYC realized they were in the majority, they helped elect Mamdani to freeze the rent and control housing costs.

Power and imagination

Do you feel that fresh breeze of renewed possibility from Mamdani's election?

It's because people's imaginations tend to be constrained by political power.

People tend to think about what's possible in terms of what's possible right now.

But by building out and gaining political power, a lot more becomes possible, and easier to imagine, over time.

To create a more just future, the public needs to build out countervailing power to the landlords' political power, and their total domination of the public's thinking around housing, and housing/unhousing systems and policies.

Building out powerful tenants' unions, city by city, is an effective way for the working class to build power over the long term, and accordingly to imagine an increasingly better and more just future for themselves and future generations.

As AI and technological unemployment become increasingly real concerns for millions of people, it will become all the more important for the public to build out real, sustainable political power, to lower the so-called "cost of living", and to create more just and equitable housing systems for everyone.

Many thanks to Tracy Rosenthal, Leonardo Vilchis, and the LA Tenants' Union for writing this book, and Haymarket Books for publishing!

Do yourself and everyone a favor, and read Abolish Rent!

https://tracyrosenthal.com/