The secondary circuit of capital, as famously theorized by David Harvey (1978, 1982), actually consists of different circuits of capital and other economic practices. By disentangling the secondary circuit of capital, the chapter shows that its different parts follow different logics and involve different actors, namely, productive capital, interest-bearing capital, fictitious capital, and (land) rent speculation. A visualization of these complex relations is provided. The chapter then identifies the place of rental housing within these complex relations. It argues that renters take on many of the systematic risks of the different types of speculation that take place within the secondary circuit of capital. The use value of the unraveling and visualization lies in the fact that in order to address the housing question and fight the interests of capital, it is necessary to understand these complex relations.
Belina, B. (2025). Disentangling the secondary circuit of capital: the place of rental housing. In Biagi, F. (Ed.). Reimagining Urban Marxisms. Rethinking Thinkers, Texts, and Challenges. Routledge, pp. 147–162.