Revisiting the Self-Help Housing debate: Perception of Self-Help Housing by the beneficiaries of South African low-cost housing

2.0 Chapter II: Concepts which give rise to Self-Help Housing.

2.1: Introduction of the chapter

This chapter argues that liberalism, neo-liberalism, poverty, inequality and the need for housing constitute the intellectual basis of SHH. It is acknowledged that individual freedom is the key concept of liberalism and neo-liberalism. In the situation of poverty and inequality associated with the concept of housing need, households, especially in developing countries where governments are unable to provide adequate housing for all citizens, do not have another alternative than to solve their housing need themselves. The aim of this chapter is to outline the main characteristics of liberalism; neo-liberalism; poverty and its associated inequalities; and the concept of housing need; to see how they favour the promotion of SHH.

The assumption in only presenting in this chapter liberalist and neo-liberalist principles is not to deny other existing movement of thought such as Marxism and socialism in South Africa or to neglect their importance. It may be noticed that although the 1994 constitution which currently leads the country is elaborated on liberal and neo-liberal basis, especially the consecration of individuals' freedom and the protection of private property, housing policy and more specifically housing subsidy is elaborated according to socialist basis. This is to say that other movements of thought also influence South African policy-makers in terms of housing. However, as this research focus on the issue of SHH, it is worth noticing that although some socialist countries such as Cuba has adopted SHH as policy, liberalism and neo-liberalist policies may be considered as the more usual promoters of SHH in developing countries.

2.2: Liberalism: Principles, strengths and weaknesses

2.2.1: Principles of liberalism

All the advocates of liberalism such as Kant, Rawls, Nozick, Turner, Hayek, etc. believe that freedom or liberty is the main characteristic and the value that every citizen must enjoy. In his first principle of justice, Rawls argues that «each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive basic liberty compatible with a similar liberty for others» (Rawls, 1972: 60). Alongside freedom which may be taken as the foundation of liberalism; individualism, property rights, a free market economy, equality of opportunity, and a limited State are also of great importance (Gerber, 1993). For attaining the key role of liberalism, which is freedom for all citizens, proponents of liberalism assign a limited role to the State. Another movement of thought named «libertarianism» which may be considered as a branch of liberalism with focus on property rights, and of which Nozick is the main defender, goes further in arguing that the government must disappear or play a minimal role. In doing so, the citizens can fully exercise their rights of freedom and attain the goal they pursue without any coercion or interference. This means that liberals assign an important role to individuals and reduce the role or the importance of the State. In relation to individuals and State, liberalism may be defined as a:

«search for principles of political justice that will command rational assent among persons with different conceptions of the good life and different views of the world. The conception of human nature which liberalism expresses is the end of a distillation of the modern experience of variety and conflict in moral life: it is the conception of man as being with the moral capacity of forming a conception of the good life and the intellectual capacity of articulating that conception in a systematic form» (Gray, 1986: 91).

The main principles of liberalism are well-documented in Martinez and Garcia (2005) and those directly related to State and individuals may be summarized as following:

- Freedom or liberty is the basis of liberalism; and principles should be focused and based on it. This is why Martinez and Garcia affirm that freedom may even be taken as liberalism itself.

- A liberal State should not elaborate a plan that every citizen must follow in the society. In other words, the government, according to liberals, must not enforce a conception of good^9(*) that every citizen must follow. However, the government should rather leave to everyone living in the society the responsibility to determine what is good for him/her.

Through these two principles presented above, it may be noticed that freedom and the rejection of paternalism appearing in the rejection of conformism and conception of good are essential to liberalism; and the diminished role of State is its logical consequence. Liberal principles presented above raise questions of the role of State in general and in relation with housing in particular.

* ⁹ The conception of good is considered as a view of the best way to live. This conception of good also takes in its account happiness, welfare, virtue, piety, meaning, or intrinsic value.