The Environments and Lifestyles of a Rentist Future

Ala Felemban (Drexel University)

This presentation includes research and design work imagining a future that amplifies many current socio-economic conditions of private property. In this scenario people must pay “rent” for the objects and services they want, while others own and profit from the “patterns.” Artificial scarcity is maintained through class structure and state power, despite automated production and resource abundance. These projects look at how the power and influence of the 1% is magnified by holding rights to the patterns necessary for production and consumption. As Frase notes, “the depiction of rentism is largely a reflection on intellectual property and what happens when the private property form is applied to more and more of the immaterial patterns and concepts that guide our culture and economy.” While the ownership of intellectual property is a growing contemporary concern, Frase contextualizes it with a discussion of the enclosure of the English commons in the 18th century, showing how the elite manage to secure private ownership and use of what could otherwise be shared resources. These projects address specific questions related to class status and socio-economic relations: What would people do to earn money in a society where production is made unnecessary? How would the owners of intellectual property preserve social control, enforce intellectual property rights, and maintain effective demand?