Marx And Engels’ Housing Thought And Its Enlightenment To China

Today,the issue of housing is a major problem that concerning the national economy and people’s livelihood.It is not only related to the vital interests of the people,but also to the harmonious development of society.As early as more than one hundred years ago,Marx and Engels studied the issue of housing.From the actual situation at that time,they formed a relatively complete concept of housing.Although the social environment has been changed nowadays,the essence of Marx and Engels’ s housing thoughts still have certain guiding significance for the solution of today’s residential problems.The focus of Marx and Engels research are different.Marx focused on the perspective of land,and his related theories are mainly concentrated on the third volume of "Capital" and on the "Nationalization of land".From the criticism of capitalist land private ownership;the advocacy of land nationalization;and the in-depth analysis of land rent theory,Marx explored the housing shortage of urban working class and peasants under the capitalist private system.Therefore,Marx proposed to eliminate the capitalist system and realize the nationalization of the land.Engels studied the housing problem at the perspective of housing,and his main residential ideas were concentrated on "On Housing Issues." Engels criticized Proudhon and Sachs’ reformism on housing issues,and proposed the analysis of housing ownership and housing leasing from the perspective of economics,and explored the root causes and countermeasures of the working class housing problem.Engels pointed out that the capitalist mode of production under the capitalist system will inevitably lead to the housing shortage of the working class,and the continuous urbanization has also accelerated the process of housing shortage.Therefore,it is necessary to deal with the housing problems of the working class with these way: one is to change the capitalist mode of production;another is to eliminate the urban-rural duality;the third is to retain the residential leasing system.Although the ideas of housing in Marx and Engels are different,they are intrinsically connected.First of all,both of them pointed out that under the capitalist private system,the housing shortage of the working class will appear inevitably.Secondly,Marx’s analysis of non-agricultural land rent are helpful for people to better understand the housing problem of the urban working class and helpful to the exploration and resolution of good policies.Finally,Marx and Engels have run through historical materialism in the study of land and housing issues,and they all reflect dialectical analysis.Therefore,Marx and Engels’ s idea of land housing has important theoretical and practical significance: First of all,we must gradually eliminate the urban-rural dual pattern,achieve urban-rural integration,and meet the basic housing needs of the low-and middle-income groups.Second,we must make full use of the residential leasing system to meet the needs of multi-level housing and achieve fair living.Finally,we must uphold the main position of the people,realize the fruits of development shared by the people,and safeguard the basic housing interests of the people.