A property market that shuts out most people, and delivers poor quality living environments for many isn’t necessarily evidence that capitalism doesn’t work.
The issue is scale. Distance. Connection. It turns out, location matters.
When the owners live in another community from where their wealth is located, they’re less likely to care about the social capital that comes about from being seen to be generous in their community. They become more focused on maximising returns on their wealth.
The most obvious example of this is publicly listed companies. Most shareholders are less concerned about the salary of the lowest paid staff member than they are on their quarterly returns and capital gains.
An owner who is part of the same community they use to generate the return on their capital (not much happens without people!), they are more inclined to share their gains with the community, Because, lets face it, who doesn’t want to be known as a generous, helpful person.
There’s two pieces to this picture: Proximity, and presence. The owner, the capital holder, needs to be close to their community, and have relationships with the people in their community in order to be generous, and be seen to be generous.
Have we amplified the commodification of property simply by seeking upward mobility and individualism?