The Socialist Forum: A Question on Rent. (1931)

Letter to the Editors from the March 1931 issue of the Socialist Standard

A reader in St. John, N.B., Canada, asks a question about rent.

“Does the rent that the worker receives as part of his pay become part of surplus-value after the landlord gets it, or is it only the building labourers, etc., who are exploited by the landlord.”

Reply:

The worker is exploited when he works, not when he buys things—whether he buys food, clothing or shelter. The position as regards the rent paid by the workers is the same as in the case of other necessities of life bought with their wages. Rent is the price the workers pay for shelter, and it figures as part of their cost of living. Where rents are low, wages will tend to be low also. The landlord is in the position of other capitalists. Subject to various factors, which interfere with the tendency towards a uniform percentage return on all capitals invested, the landlords will tend to receive the same return on capital invested in house-building or house-purchase as they would receive if they invested in any other investment field.

Editorial Committee.