As automated technology throws millions of people out of work, then into homelessness and the streets, we see the rise of tent encampments all over the country, in cities, towns and rural areas. People are turning to this basic and minimal form of shelter, because the government that is supposed to represent them has massively failed to help, and housing under capitalism is not a right. Survival manuals tell you to first seek shelter. Tent communities, besides providing a minimum of shelter and privacy for people, do become communities, where people have each others’ backs and share resources. The powers that be, instead of providing people with housing, can only attack them for seeking shelter this way. City governments and police departments go on the attack, stealing and destroying the tents and other possessions, scattering people back to the streets, doorways and the weather. Nothing could express the bankruptcy of the pay-to-play system louder than this. The government should be housing the people—starting with the six houses estimated to be vacant in the US for every homeless person—and making it a priority and a fundamental right. The fight of the homeless for survival and for their rights is in reality a movement to create a government that represents our interests and guarantees everyone’s basic needs in a new society.
