An op-ed published last month in Teen Vogue that argued in favor of abolishing private property made the rounds again on social media on Friday after Republican lawmakers tweeted against it.
In a July 15 article, titled “An Eviction Crisis Is Coming — We Need to Treat Housing as a Right,” columnist Kandist Mallett claimed the coronavirus pandemic has laid bare “the failure of capitalism and the incompetence of the United States government,” which she said missed the opportunity to deal with the country’s “institutional failings.”
“Congress did not rise to the occasion, providing or even seriously considering necessary, transformational policies like universal basic income (UBI), universal health care, rent suspension, or debt forgiveness,” Mallet wrote. “Instead, they gave us crumbs through a one-time payment of $1,200 and $600 extra in unemployment (for those who qualified), while many of the well-connected — including several lawmakers themselves — cashed in via the Paycheck Payment Protection (PPP) loans program intended for small businesses.”
Mallet also claimed the pandemic has exposed party politics as “a sham,” and that “real political affinity lies within class and race.” Her solution, in addition to abolishing the police, is the abolition of property. “What is more evident of the legacy of settler colonialism and its violence than the idea of the ownership of land?” she asked. “What helped shape the unequal distribution of wealth and enduring segregation of our cities quite like centuries of racist property laws?”
The pending evictions looming for millions of Americans, especially minorities, have given rise to the importance of rethinking private housing “and the role it plays in maintaining economic violence in those communities,” Mallet continued.
Mallett went on to slam the disparity of wealth in the U.S., the lack of diversity among the Founding Fathers, and the genocide of Native Americans, which she linked to present-day property-owning laws. “The lack of protections for non-landowners should be to no surprise from a country founded on the genocide and colonization of indigenous peoples,” she wrote.
By way of solution, Mallett offered not only cancellation of rent during the pandemic, but also “[working] toward a world where landlords no longer hold this sort of power over people’s lives. We need a housing movement based on a rejection of the construct that any one person should own this earth’s land.”
Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) re-upped the article on Thursday, quote-tweeting it and accusing the magazine for teen girls of promoting Marxism. “Teen Vogue publishes oped that says we should abolish private property rights…along with those pesky police. Just wondering if anyone sees any issues with our next generation reading Marxist propaganda in popular teen magazines…?” he wrote.
Teen Vogue publishes oped that says we should abolish private property rights…along with those pesky police.
Just wondering if anyone sees any issues with our next generation reading Marxist propaganda in popular teen magazines…? https://t.co/yWyPLq937x
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) August 7, 2020
Crenshaw’s fellow Texas lawmaker, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) followed suit Friday, pointing out simply that Teen Vogue itself was somebody’s property. “Who owns Teen Vogue?” he asked.
Who owns Teen Vogue? https://t.co/TixSxgmriC
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) August 7, 2020
Mallet’s article is not the first time Teen Vogue has dabbled in Marxism. On June 18, Cruz blasted the publication as “ignorant & demented” for a piece instructing teens how to “learn the legacy of Marx’s ideas and how they’re relevant to the current political climate.”
Cruz tweeted, “Teen Vogue, glorifying the founder of communism. Because Stalin, Mao, Castro & their ilk murdered over 100 million people, imprisoned and tortured millions more & produced crushing poverty that lead to starvation, misery & death. Welcome to Marx, indeed.”
Ignorant & demented: Teen Vogue, glorifying the founder of communism. Because Stalin, Mao, Castro & their ilk murdered over 100 million people, imprisoned and tortured millions more & produced crushing poverty that lead to starvation, misery & death. Welcome to Marx, indeed. https://t.co/qdD2trwdKU
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) June 18, 2020
Related: These 3 Outrageous Posts Prove ‘Teen Vogue’ Is An Abomination