3 ms·

> An issue that didn't exist in the past doesn't need to exist in the future Do you genuinely think homelessness is something of a new phenomenon?

• thaumasiotes 2y ago
  We know it is; read literature from earlier periods and you'll find that phenomena related to homelessness present very differently. You can find no end of American hobo stories. And hobos themselves, or as they were called elsewhere "tramps", are something that came into being because social institutions were developed to create them.
  • arlort 2y ago
    Beggars and the homeless have always existed in any relatively large settlement. I'm fairly sure that if you got transported back to ancient mesopotamia you'd find homeless people
    • thaumasiotes 2y ago
      There would be beggars. It's less obvious that there would be homeless, assuming you exclude the Amorites, but it's possible. But their numbers would be low. The number of homeless and beggars you get is a function of how much support exists for a homeless / beggar lifestyle. Establishing institutions to help them creates them in large numbers.