A/HRC/10/7 page 9 II. PREVALENT ECONOMIC AND HOUSING POLICIES AND APPROACHES AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE RIGHT TO ADEQUATE HOUSING 19. Whether freely decided by Governments or imposed in some cases by international financial institutions and other actors as loan conditions, the withdrawal of States from the housing sector, as well as the commodification and increased use of housing as an investment asset, within a globalized financial market, has deeply impacted the enjoyment of the right to adequate housing. 20. Observers have noted the impact on adequate housing and housing systems, including laws and policies, of globalization and economic models prevailing in recent decades. As one noted, “[t]he growth and power of globalized corporations involved in housing; the globalization of property rights, housing finance markets, and the promotion of owner-occupation; globalized real estate investment in housing; the reordering of cities and slums; new roles for the State in relation to housing; and the effect of globalized migrants and refugees all present new and undetermined challenges.”21 The belief that markets could regulate the production of housing as the most rational means of resource allocation as well as the growing role of investment in housing under a globally integrated financial system has led public policies towards increasing State withdrawal from the social sphere. 21. In the same way as other social fields, housing is affected by the ongoing struggle between those who believe in collective responsibility, including - but not limited to - the role of government in promoting general welfare and those who believe that general welfare is best achieved by all pursuing their own self-interest via the market, with government doing as little as possible.22 The first view can be seen as predominant in the first part of the twentieth century, with the second view gaining in prominence in recent decades. Some claim that “nowhere has this shift been greater than with regard to housing and housing policy”.23 22. For decades, the world has witnessed “the requirements of attracting international capital take precedence over the fulfilment of other social objectives”.24 Neoliberal priorities such as fiscal constraint, free trade, reduced welfare spending and lower taxation, were soon endorsed by 21 P. Kenna, “Globalization and housing rights”, Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, vol. 15, No. 2 (July 2008), pp. 397-469. 22 R.G. Bratt, M.E. Stone and C. Hartman, eds., A Right to Housing: Foundation for a New Social Agenda (Philadelphia, Temple University Press, 2006). 23 24 Ibid. G. Soros, The Bubble of American Supremacy: Correcting the Misuse of American Power (New York, Public Affairs, 2003).