Managing with anarchy

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In Canada, one in ten people reported experiencing some kind of homelessness in 2021. Some lived on the street while others experienced less visible kinds of housing precarity, such as couch surfing or living in their car.

There are many causes of homelessness. Statistics Canada cites financial challenges as the leading cause. Other factors, like health issues and domestic abuse, can also affect a person’s housing situation. But more than that, for Professor Jayne Malenfant and Hannah Brais, homelessness is a symptom of a flawed social and political system.

“People often don’t even consider there’s an alternative to capitalism or neo-liberal systems,” said Malenfant on the McGill Delve podcast. “But those who are negatively impacted by these systems know that it can’t continue this way.”

Malenfant is an assistant professor of Education at McGill University. Brais is a PhD candidate and research coordinator at the Old Brewery Mission – Montreal’s largest organisation serving people without homes.

In a paper, Malenfant and Brais explored an unconventional approach to addressing the housing crisis: anarchism.

What is anarchism?

The word “anarchism” might invoke post-apocalyptic images of broken windows and demolished buildings. But that’s not what Malenfant and Brais are talking about here.

In their paper, where they explore anarchism as a tool for addressing homelessness, they use it as a political philosophy that is sceptical of state power and rejects formal power hierarchies.

Anarchism can take many forms, explained Malenfant. In some cases, it might resemble other commonly known political maxims like libertarianism, which also rejects state power. But while libertarianism favours individual freedom above all else, Malenfant and Brais adopt an anarchist lens that is collectivist in its approach.

“We look at forms of anarchy that are grounded in mutual aid and solidarity,” said Malenfant. “The survival of each of us is linked to the survival of all of us.”

In practice, this means re-examining the structures, systems, and institutions that influence our daily lives, identifying when those systems harm others, and making changes that are more equitable for all.

But change isn’t the only endgame. For Brais and Malenfant, the process through which change is achieved should align with the results you want to see. If your goal is to end state-sponsored violence against vulnerable people, an anarchist might choose non-violent resistance – a rejection of the tools of the powerful.

Anarchism is far from a new philosophy. It’s older than many of the current popular political philosophies, including both capitalism and communism.

“If we’ve been making hierarchies for as long as we can remember, there’s probably been a group of people challenging those hierarchies,” said Brais.

The radical imaginary

Using anarchist principles, Malenfant and Brais dare to re-imagine what housing can look like in Canada.

For them, the financialization of housing is one example of how capitalism leaves vulnerable people behind. A house is the biggest purchase most people will ever make, and they depend on their home increasing in value to fund their retirement and healthcare later in life. But as homes increase in value, they become less accessible to people who could not buy when prices were lower.

For Brais, this phenomenon is a response to an anxiety in our society: unless you can amass a certain amount of wealth, you won’t be taken care of later in life. It also creates a hierarchy where those with money receive housing and care, while those without money do not.

“There’s something insidious about the financialization of housing, in that it speaks to something fundamental about our fears as humans,” said Brais.

Anarchism provides useful alternative perspectives to the problem, said Brais. If we could guarantee a healthy life to all older adults, would they still need their home as a nest egg investment?  How would this change their decisions throughout their lives? And what effect would this have on the financial hierarchy that puts low-income people at risk of homelessness?

“If we said ‘we the collective are going to take care of you,’ I think that would resolve a lot of it,” said Brais.

McGill Delve’s editor-in-chief Professor Saku Mantere interviewed Professor Jayne Malenfant and Hannah Brais on the McGill Delve podcast. They explored anarchism in more depth and applied it to both housing and the education sector. Listen to it here or search “McGill Delve” wherever you download podcasts.