ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the main criticisms of social constructionism. The philosophical basis of social constructionism is the idea that social reality is not fixed and objectively determined, but is, rather, contingent and relative. The belief is that social reality is constructed through social interaction and is not pre-given. Relativism is the belief that there are no necessary or objective relations in the world. Social construction can be seen as an attempt to find the organising principle for intersubjectivity. What social constructionism has done, therefore, is to open up the field of housing research and demonstrate the potential for theoretical analysis that links housing into a broader body of theory. It shows that there is potential for us to learn from other disciplines and fields, but also that we can talk to other theoreticians about issues of common interest.
