Out of the Rain 
J Malcolm Garcia, Seven Stories Press, £14.99

FOR many residents of the United States, especially those in its cities and larger suburbs, the fact of homelessness is quite well established. Camps made up of lean-tos, tents, small fire pits and people exist in parks, woods, along city streets and under freeway bridges around the nation. 

The reaction to these settlements by residents with houses and local authorities ranges from acceptance and providing services to the unhoused to vigilante and police attacks on the encampments. Despite the differences in these responses, both represent an acceptance of an essential fact: most people living outside because they can’t afford to live inside do so because of the capitalist economy.

Those who support the vigilantes and the police attacks on the unhoused are, in essence, rejecting the humanity of those being attacked and “swept up” (to use a popular euphemism). Whether they acknowledge this truth or not, their actions reveal an understanding that only people with houses matter when all is said and done. Meanwhile, those who work through churches, social services and other organisations that assist the unhoused prove a certain belief that modern capitalism is irredeemable.