Twisted Spinster

This is not actually a slam against capitalists, just self-proclaimed ones who are to the free market what mold is to drywall. Ones like “Tatyana,” commenting on this post about a neglectful landlord who let the apartment buildings he owned fall to pieces. The residents have to move out, because the buildings have been condemned. A fairly straightforward account of what happens when you bite off more than  you can chew (the buildings are being foreclosed on) and the fallout therefrom, right? Not to this Tatyana, who trumpeted that the owner “had the right to take a loss” on the buildings, that he was not obligated to do more for his renters than what was in their lease agreements, that renters want apartment owners to be their “nannies,” and that it was unfair for the evil “state” to make apartment building owners adhere to building maintenance codes or any kind of standard whatsoever except what he, and a free, Ayn-Randian non-altruistic man, valued and felt like adhering to. Well, all I can say is John Galt would have slapped the apartment owner’s face, but not all of us are John Galt — many of us want to get as much as we can grab for the least possible effort. That’s why we have community standards, building codes, all sorts of things that freewheeling pretend capitalists (who are actually looters in disguise — yes, I’ve read the books, I know what I’m talking about, you feel no obligation to tell the truth about what you are selling, it’s all on the buyer’s shoulders and if he’s so stupid as to give you money without spending hours and hours of research and detective work to find out if the apartment he wants to rent is up to code then so what you have his money. Sucker!)

No really, it’s not that difficult: people rent so they won’t have to do certain things, like replace bad wiring, moldy drywall, and corroded plumbing. That’s why they pay security deposits and why renting is more expensive than owning (if not in the actual monthly payment then over the long run since you aren’t building up good credit and the money you put into rent won’t result in you owning anything after a set number of years). And in fact, renters are not allowed to do such things to their property — I’m not even allowed to paint the walls (well, I can, but I have to repaint them the original color before I move or I’ll lose part or all of my security deposit) or change out the hideous white plastic blinds for something more attractive. I accept those restrictions for the freedom not having to unclog my sink myself or fix my broken a/c at my own expense.

And people who live in a community together, like a city or a state, accept that there are certain base standards to adhere to, because without them human nature runs wild and everything goes to shit. Think of all those stories about that one house in the neighborhood where the yards are unkempt and full of trash, rats and other vermin run wild, the stench from the house (which is full of cats, dogs, and their uncleaned-up feces and piss) fills the air for blocks. In Tatyana’s world the community should not be allowed to force the owner to clean up. In Tatyana’s world there are magical barriers to vermin and bad smells making those things respect property lines. Tatyana states that she comes from the former Soviet Union, and uses that as her excuse to never let any state tell her what to do or something. She’s got it sideways: she does not seem to realize that it’s not the community rules that are bad; that depends upon the way they are imposed. In the former USSR, they were imposed from the top down, based on some far away report by some faceless commitee, and therefore not respected and thus not adhered to all that much — hence the crappy living conditions in communist countries. Here in the USA, community standards are set by the people who live in those communities. If Tatyana feels alienated from where she lives here in the US, and thinks that there are rules and regulations she finds too restricting and onerous for her liking, she’s under no obligation to live here — she is free to leave, for some place that suits her better.

One final thing: I think much of her cynical and distrustful outlook is due to her upbringing in the cynical and distrustful atmosphere in the former Soviet Union, a place where little natural community feeling was apparently fostered, and where apparently this sort of attitude (by all report) continues to hold sway and hold Russia et al back. That just goes to show how living under communism damages, not just the people living under it, but future generations who have supposedly broken “free.” Freedom takes trust. If you can’t trust the people you are living among to a certain level, you’re screwed.