 Rutger Bregman |
That’s the argument Dutch author Rutger Bregman uses in support of a universal basic income: “The most important obstacle for basic income is a moral obstacle. It is in the ideas that we still have about work. We still work with a very outdated definition of what work is. We define work by getting a salary in a hierarchical relationship with an employer, and you have to get paid. All the other things, caring for the children, caring for the elderly, doing housework and volunteer work – we don’t consider that as work, even though obviously it is. Try and stop doing those things, go on strike as a careworker or stop doing the dishes, and you’ll see that it is going to be a problem.” |
 Universal Basic Income in action |
Universal basic income is free money – a set amount of monthly cash to cover living expenses such as food, transport, clothes, and utilities, regardless of their income, social status, or anything else for that matter. No questions asked. The amount depends on the cost of living in each particular country. In Switzerland, they were thinking about $2.500 a month ($30,000 annually), in Kenya – $1.000 annually. |
 Will it kick back? What do you think? |
Bregman’s argument is strong enough to justify the movement. Another good argument, I think, is the increasing integration of not only national, but even world-wide human community. The existence of really poor people affects the life of those living above poverty line. Empty stomach is a bad advisor. It is cheaper to keep it full, than to maintain the police force and the army to keep the pressure under the tap. |
 Evolution (of man?) |
Yet another argument comes from the realization that development of robots and AI in general will eliminate many of the jobs. That was the primary motivation for Y Combinator, a seed accelerator and startup incubator, to announce the experiment with basic income in Oakland, California. |
 On 4 October 2013 Swiss activists from Generation Grundeinkommen organized a performance in Bern where 8 million coins were dumped on a public square, as a celebration of the successful collection of more than 125,000 signatures, which will force the government to hold a referendum on whether or not to incorporate the concept of basic income in the Federal constitution. |
The examples of existing basic income, or similar welfare programs, include Bolsa Familia in Brazil, the partial basic income in Macao and the basic income in Iran (you cane read about similar programs in different countries here). Basic income pilots have been conducted in United States and Canada in the 1960s and 1970s, Namibia (from 2008) and in India (from 2011). In Europe there are political decisions in France, Netherlands and Finland to start up some basic income pilots. Voters in Switzerland strongly defeated a referendum on the topic in 2016 with 77% voting against the proposal. Yes, despite the rejection of a nationwide UBI scheme, the Swiss city of Lausanne could also give the idea a go. |
 Today and tomorrow |
The one often cited argument against basic income is that it would decrease the motivation to work. But I agree with Sam Altman, president of Y Combinator, who believes that it is a necessary — even an inevitable — evolution in our society:
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These two articles were great. Doesn’t mean I agree with universal basic income, but I can appreciate the argument. Currently I am reading “Drive” by Daniel Pink, and he says that giving people extrinsic rewards actually hurts productivity. As a manager I should make the work we do give its own rewards in the spirit of “flow” and Carol Dweck.
Thank you!
I think that for the most part in the US and the West nobody goes hungry, que no? Your experience in a communist society shows that people will work hard without an external profit motive. But I also know a lot of people that would not work much if given $30k per year from the government.
That’s what the universal basic income going to address – to get such folks out of the way of those who want to do something useful (together with robots).
I think that a few creative and sharing people can feed multitudes.
Well, in the long run, I wonder if the number of these few will be shrinking and, if shrinking, will AI be able to compensate? That’s the question. I tend to think it will compensate.
If so, then it is fun to imagine small minority feeding vast majority. Then this minority – after shrinking to a few – start thinking: “So many people are wasting their lives without discovering their creative potential. We are so sorry for them. Can we help them to do it?” And they devise the way to expel them from the paradise… (sounds familiar, eh?)
Nice.
That gave me a chuckle.
We have no idea what kind of alien world we are headed for…