How not to be an egalitarian: the politics of homeownership and property-owning democracy

Abstract

This paper offers a critical evaluation of the narrative of ‘property-owning democracy' (POD) in contemporary housing policy and in the political cultures of the UK and the USA. It describes and contrasts two competing interpretations of POD. The dominant interpretation permeates the politics of housing in Britain and the USA. It is based on the assumption that homeownership creates virtuous and independent citizens, is strongly associated with the conservative ideal of the small state, and is firmly embedded in both policy and the accepted terms of political debate.In contrast to this, there is a less dominant, egalitarian interpretation of POD, which seeks to promote a view of property and citizenship based more on solidarity and interdependence. This interpretation of POD tends to view property more broadly, including smaller savings and even extending to mass ownership in industry. But it also typically neglects the political reality of POD as a homeownership ideology and the anti-welfare dynamic it has created. This paper therefore argues that the egalitarian (re)interpretation of POD is politically and sociologically naïve, and that it is offers an untenable counter-narrative to the politics of welfare retrenchment. A more egalitarian housing policy needs to start from a different place.