| Summary: | Research on the ideological and political significance of homeowner-ship, sometimes called the "incorporation thesis," constitutes the main point of departure for this thesis. Focussing on the activities of the state, financial and allocative institutions, homeownership is held to sanction and sustain the existing social order because individuals develop stakes in its survival. Private property and high consumption, privatised lifestyles are emphasised and legitimised,facilitating social and economic stability. At its logical conclusion, this perspective posits homeownership as a functional necessity for capitalist societies.
The theory of ideology, implicitly drawn upon by this perspective, is criticised as being simplistic, overly instrumental and predicated upon an inadequate model of man and social reality. It connotes formal, articulated belief systems that express and justify the interests of the dominant class(es). It is tantamount to deception and indoctrination, lending support to conspiratorial accounts of social control. Those in positions of subordination appear to be the passive possessors of false consciousness.
The basis of a broader conception of ideology is outlined. It is thought to connote a level of signification or meaning creation, which, as a form of distorted consciousness, has the effect of sanctioning the existing social order. In addition to propositional beliefs, ideology is also seen to include less systematic, less easily articulated, everyday
forms of consciousness. It has a material basis in daily social relations and does not originate primarily in "ruling class tricks" or a "non-social" consciousness. Those meanings and beliefs that are reified are particularly important. Loss of a sense of historicity and human creativity culminates in the naturalisation of aspects of a mutable social system.
Appreciation of, the ideological significance of homeownership is seen to require more than an analysis of the state and housing-related institutions. Even when historically grounded, such research fails to tap the social roots of ideological beliefs. Attention must also be upon the ways in which expectations and experiences of home, and related spheres of daily life, crystalise, are understood and are made meaningful.
These propositions are operationalised through indepth interviews with 33 homeowners in Vancouver that explore the subjective meanings attached to home and to private space in general. The latter appear to be predicated upon an individualistic conception of self and social reality; however, this differs fundamentally from the "rugged individualism"
usually held to characterise capitalist societies. Most significant
was the denigration of ownership and material possessions as a basis for personal happiness and prestige. The meaning of homeownership centres on the pragmatic exigencies of "making good use of one's money." It is not intrinsically valued and, together with the related issue of investment, it is tempered and overridden by the more elusive and subtle meanings of home. Here, the individual, the family, self-fulfillment and self-actualisation, and the issues of privacy, freedom and control are paramount. Contrary to recent findings, these concerns are more dependent on housing form rather than tenure. Ownership enhanced but did not guarantee or necessarily facilitate their expectations of home.
Aspects of these subjective meanings are thought to reflect naturalised views of the "individual" and "individual needs" and are tentatively interpreted as being ideological. These are rarely, if ever, questioned and alternative ways of satisfying perceived, basic needs are not comprehended. The range of action thought possible, and actually taken is fundamentally circumscribed not only by institutional arrangements
but also by reified constructions of self and social reality. The need for a more ethnographic methodology is suggested in order to appreciate
the daily practices that combine to make this lived system of meaning,
reciprocally confirming. === Arts, Faculty of === Geography, Department of === Graduate
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