by Peter Knight | Mar 6, 2023 | Events, News
Some argue that global warming, the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine strengthen the case in favour of the introduction of an unconditional basic income. Others argue instead that they shatter the prospect of introducing it in the foreseeable future. Who is right? This question was the starting point of the lecture given by Philippe Van Parijs on January 19, 2023 in Freiburg as part of the FRIBIS Lecture Series.
To view the video of the lecture, click here.
by Peter Knight | Dec 14, 2022 | Events, News
On Thursday, the 19th of January 2023, Prof. Dr. Philippe van Parijs (UCLouvain) gives an evening lecture in the FRIBIS Lecture Series on “A world in crisis: boost or damper for basic income?“
Abstract: Some argue that global warming, the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine strengthen the case in favour of the introduction of an unconditional basic income. Others argue instead that they shatter the prospect of introducing it in the foreseeable future. Who is right?
Find more information and a Zoom link click here.
by Malcolm Torry | Sep 7, 2020 | News
Philippe Van Parijs, ‘Godfather of the UBI movement’ as Prospect magazine has called him, has been voted number 8 in the magazine’s poll.
Dreams of “incomes for all” trace way back—Thomas Paine proposed one scheme. But even before the government picked up the wage bill for millions of furloughed workers, Universal Basic Income was an ambition coming of age. The rapid automation of labour switches the question from how national income can be earned, to how it might be distributed. Today’s young UBI enthusiasts draw on the books and tap the networks of this Belgian polymath, who championed it before it was fashionable. For decades, he has warned that our proclaimed freedoms to start businesses or raise children count for nothing without the real freedom that comes with a basic income.
The full list of the fifty thinkers nominated for the poll, and the list of the top ten, can be found here. The winner was KK Shailaja, Kerala’s Health Minister.
by Malcolm Torry | Apr 7, 2020 | News, Opinion
The Spanish newspaper El Pais has published an article, ‘La renta básica deja de ser una utopía‘ (‘Basic income is no longer a utopia’):
La pandemia lleva a diversos países a ensayar planes de transferencias directas no universales para compensar la reducción en los ingresos de sus ciudadanos …
The pandemic leads various countries to try non-universal direct transfer plans to compensate for the reduction in the income of their citizens …
An English translation can be found here.
by Andre Coelho | Nov 15, 2017 | News
Phillipe van Parijs (at the Lisbon BIEN 2017 Conference). Credit to: Enno Schmidt.
Phillipe van Parijs has delivered the 2017 annual Il Mulino lecture, which happened on Saturday, the 28th of October, at the Bologna University’s Aula Magna. This major event, attended by around 900 people, had the presence of former Prime Minister and European Commission president Romano Prodi, ex-minister Vincenzo Visco, the president of the Italian Central Bank and the Archbishop of Bologna, among other Italian political public figures.
The lecture was titled “Il reddito di base: tramonto della società del lavoro?” [“Basic income: sunset of the work society?”], and coincided with the publication of van Parijs and Yannick Vanderborght latest book “Basic Income: a radical proposal”, published in Italian under the title “Il reddito di base: una proposta radicale” (an edition by Il Mulino).
The event got massive coverage by the Italian media, including Corriere di Bologna, La Republica Bologna, La Nazione, the LEFT magazine, plus several radio stations and the national Italian TV (RAI). However, according to Sandro Gobetti, from BIN Italia (Basic Income Network Italy), Italian media tended not to grasp the main news message in this event. Gobetti argued in his article that it was not so much that political figures Visco and Prodi met and hugged, but that they had, in fact, attended a lesson on basic income by a prominent thinker in the field, Phillipe van Parijs. The relevance then, is not so much in knowing if these politicians agree or not with the basic income concept (they expressed many reservations), but recognizing this as a real issue, growing everyday as an international debate.
More information at:
Kate McFarland, “Basic Income: A Radical Proposal for a Free Society and a Sane Economy, by Philippe Van Parijs and Yannick Vanderborght”, Basic Income News, March 25th 2017
[In Italian]
Leonardi Filippi, “Come rivalutare il lavoro? Dando un reddito a tutti [How to revalue work? By giving a basic income to everyone]”, LEFT, November 10th 2017
“Visco, lungo abbracio com Prodi a Bologna [Visco, long hug with Prodi at Bologna]”, Corriere di Bologna, October 28th 2017
Ilaria Venturi, “Van Parijs oggi al Mulino Reddito garantito a tutti l’idea che divide il mondo [Today, Van Parijs presented at Mulino basic income, the idea which divides the world]”, La Repubblica, October 28th 2017
Sandro Gobetti, “Prodi e Visco a lezione di reddito di base da van Parijs [Prodi and Visco go to basic income lesson from van Parijs]”, BIN Italia, October 30th 2017
