Bain Co-op Meets Wages for Housework
A political thriller

http://www.connexions.org/RedMenace/Docs/RM2-Bain.htm
Diemer, Ulli

Publisher:  Red Menace/Toronto Liberation School / Ulli Diemer, Toronto, Canada
Year Published:  1977   First Published:  1977
Resource Type:  Article/Report/Letter
Cx Number:  CX5128

The story of the struggle that gave birth to a housing co-operative and destroyed the credibility of the 'Wages for Housework' sect.

Abstract:  The entire perspective of the Wages for Housework group apparently centres on a particularly vulgar form of economic determinism: the theory that people will only respond, and can only be organized around, issues that have to do with putting more money in their pockets. The theory says that people can’t be interested in something as abstract as controlling their own community so, therefore, they aren’t interested, and if they think they are, they’re just being duped. The Wages for Housework philosophy is well captured in the symbol they have themselves chosen, and which they used widely during their campaign at Bain: a hand clutching a wad of money.

Subject Headings

• Community Organizing
• Co-operative Housing
• Co-operatives
• Housing
• Housing Costs
• Tenants
• Toronto/Historical
• Toronto/Ward Seven