ABSTRACT

In UK public discourse, landlords count among the most unpopular figures. Their assumed immorality is often summarized in the image of the “parasite”. This paper draws on original ethnographic data from online communities for small-scale property investors who are also landlords, in order to explore what ethical ideas landlords themselves embrace. I argue that in the context of UK “asset-based welfare”, particularly the connection between pension provision and the property market, landlords can be seen to engage in ethical practices of “working on themselves” in order to become successful investor subjects. Next to techniques of affect management and the accumulation of “information capital”, this centrally involves eradicating in oneself ethical dispositions belonging to the waning paradigm of collectivized welfare and labour relations.

摘要

在英国的公共话语中，房东是最不受欢迎的人物之一。他们假定的不道德行为常常被概括为“寄生虫”的形象。本文利用来自在线社区的原始民族志数据，为同时也是房东的小型房地产投资者，以探索房东自己所接受的道德理念。我认为，在英国“以资产为基础的福利”的背景下，特别是养老金提供与房地产市场之间的联系，可以看到房东为了成为成功的投资者主体而从事“自我工作”的道德实践。除了情感管理技术和“信息资本”的积累之外，这主要涉及在自己身上根除属于逐渐减弱的集体福利和劳资关系范式的道德倾向。