My father has a real estate business, and owns many properties, including condos, houses, and industry, office, and retail buildings. He claims he is “the best landlord in the world” and all his tenants love him, and I do believe him. He works hard to make sure all of their needs are met, is always on top of maintenance and construction, and manages a good team to ensure things don't get out of hand for residents. However, being a landlord is inherently exploitative and unethical, and he doesn't seem to understand that, nor do I know how to explain it to him in a way he'll understand/won't dismiss.
I'm a socialist, and do a lot of work with homeless people in my community, as well as with tenant unions. All my friends are working class and I've seen them struggle in a world that seems to be always be eating them alive. People like my father are clearly a direct cause of that in many aspects, and it hurts me that he doesn't understand that. Our family has so much excess wealth, which I am grateful for because I have lived a very easy life, but I feel disgusted that the majority of the people in my life are hurt by the very systems my family upholds.
I've had conversations with my father about capitalism, and he understands my perspective a little bit, but believes that until the world completely changes, he's just playing the game right/playing the hand he was dealt. I don't think I could ever convince him to give up his business entirely – it is his whole life's work and I think it's quite late in his life to find a different career. But I wish he understood why it's so unsettling for me to accept that he's a landlord. I have a hard time arguing with him, because in many ways I feel like I just don't know enough to give him the concrete facts, and I don't want to get too emotional about homeless people and poor people and all that because he might not take me seriously. I wonder if there's any path I could guide him to be more ethical? If he could invest in low income or subsidized housing, or cut his tenants some slack in some ways… I would appreciate any advice, about explaining to him why being a landlord is exploitative/why it's wrong to be a landlord, or how to take a more sympathetic approach to his tenants, or any other suggestions in general for navigating these conversations. I refuse to be complicit!