Homeless amid the structural crisis of capital

Abstract  This article analyzes the emergence of the homeless in the 19th century, based on the historical research of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. It then examines the relation of homeless to the economic crises of the capitalist mode of production, from the 19th century until today, based on István Mészáros studies on capital's uncontrollable destructive self-reproducing tendency. Finally, it brings a brief historical portrait of the origin of homeless in the Brazilian context by compiling critical studies from the field of Human Sciences, especially Social Service. This article is an offshoot of two ongoing research projects, and consists of a qualitative investigation of a theoretical nature carried out through a systematic bibliographic review of classical and contemporary Marxist authors. As a result of this research, it was concluded that homeless is a structural problem of capital, whose effective overcoming depends on the development of anti-capitalist measures.

Keywords:  Homeless; Capitalism; Economic crisis; Pauperism; Brazil