r/AcademicMarxism • u/Past-Yard-3149 • Dec 27 '23
From a Marxist perspective, what should be done when a homeless person asks for money?
I'm sorry if this sounds like a strange or morbid question. I'm not an expert in Marxism. The situation is as follows:
In my city, there aren't any strong communist organizations, and there are several homeless people (many of whom are disabled) who, I imagine, survive on what they can collect in a day.
From a Marxist point of view, what should be done?
I am aware that giving a few coins doesn't actually solve anything, at least in terms of society. On the other hand, I think that if I don't give them a coin, am I favoring contradictions in society and therefore acting in favor of advancing towards socialism?
As I said, I'm not an expert in Marxism. What should be done in these cases?
9
u/glucklandau Dec 27 '23 edited Dec 27 '23
Marxism isn't a moral philosophy, so I'm not sure if there is a marxist answer to this question.
I generally give them some money, depending on how generous I feel. Sometimes I don't, I don't really know why.
What bothers me is that they won't ask me for money honestly. Like simply, "Hey I need money, can you spare some?".
They start the whole "I came to the city two days ago from a small village and lost everything. I need money for the operation of my child and I don't even have money to go back to the village." The story itself isn't unbelievable, but the way she told me, I realised that she'd been saying the same story again and again in a single breath to every person for days or months as if memorised.
Or another person who opened with "Don't give me money, please buy me bread or milk from this particular shop", because they exchange it later.
I'm not judging them, probably honesty doesn't work and they need to scam people.
My friends tell me that they're clearly scamming you, but I reply: look if you're out on the streets looking destitute and asking for money, I don't really need another reason to help out.
I don't make a lot of money, in fact I make very little money. But my needs are low as well. I bicycle to work, I don't eat at restaurants or spend money on alcohol etc so I save a lot.
3
u/PBandJammm Dec 27 '23
I think, from a Marxist perspective, the issue of homelessness boils down to policy decisions. There is no policy to house those who cannot secure housing on their own for whatever reason (e.g., unaffordability, addiction, physical/mental health, etc). So if you want to solve the "problem" then the structural causes of homelessness must be addressed at a higher level. At an individual level, giving someone a couple bucks here and there can potentially have a big impact for those who receive it. If there isn't an organization in your city that actively engaged in politics and addresses homelessness compassionately you could start one...lost of resources on a food not bombs approach or various other approaches. But it's a lot of work...that shouldn't deter you though. Especially if we look beyond marx himself, we can follow Adorno's general suggestion the bourgeois leisure time and activities do little to enlighten us and build critical and political capacity, instead we should divert that energy away from consumerist hobbies and work to improve ourselves through study and society through political engagement, such as starting a local organization that assists our most disenfranchised members by providing free meals, organizing clothing, tent and sleeping bag drives, soliciting local politicians to make better policy decisions, working to secure locally available resources such as temporary housing vouchers, etc.
1
-5
Dec 27 '23
just do what u want , but you are affecting the M-C-M system that marx always mentions in capital one. Also, Marx wouldn’t have been a communist idky you are mentioning that term
6
u/th3gentl3man_ Dec 27 '23
Are you really trying to find a specific answer to such a question? This ultimately resolve in your own agency. Marxism is not a tight cage that says what is right for you to do.