To a Martian observer, the public response to COVID-19 might resemble a ceremonial dance in which the participants go forward, then back, mingle, change partners, bow to one another, twirl, and finish as they began, but with a greater distance between them.
One example lies in housing. Before the pandemic struck, the price of houses was rising as were rents, the wealth of the few was increasing as was the debt of the struggling, at the same time as average income and job security were declining. The rising housing market was fuelled by debt, as was public anxiety. Since public housing was totally inadequate to meet needs, people who were homeless slept in the city streets. The worst affected were people with mental illness, addictions and unemployed.
After massive public spending and embracing of solidarity in response to COVID-19, we are seemingly returning to where we began. As Government support threatens to be withdrawn, the price of houses continues to rise, rent and evictions and homelessness are also likely to rise, those with money to invest will increase their wealth, and the anxiety of those in unprotected jobs, high debts or no income will also rise. The dancing is over.
Discussion of housing usually focuses exclusively on its relationship to the economy. Housing is seen as property, and the most important questions are seen as having to do with buying and selling. Many government initiatives in the area result in maintaining and increasing the price of houses with a consequent rise in inequality. This transactional aspect is important. It needs, however, to be seen in the light of the larger human good. From that perspective housing in all the various forms it takes in different cultures is not a possession but a human need.
The distinction between housing seen as property and as a human value is embodied in the discrimination we make between a house and a home. The concept of home suggests that the place where we live is more than bricks and mortar. It is the centre of a network of relationships that lie at the heart of human flourishing. In the first place these comprise our interpersonal relationships. As we emerge from the coronavirus crisis we are aware of the strain that the uncertainty, the restrictions on movement and the anxiety about our own health and that of people whom we love can put on our relationships. The increase in