by Andre Coelho | Oct 27, 2015 | News
Paulo Borges (Outro Portugal Existe official website)
There is now another candidate for President, in Portugal. Paulo Borges, professor, philosopher, writer, lover of the arts, culture and spiritual traditions has delivered the news, last July, that he would start his campaign for President, an election happening next January 2016. Formally, the campaign named “Outro Portugal Existe [Another Portugal Exists]” was launched last week, on the 13th of October, in Lisbon. At this event, his manifesto was presented, at the end of which he guided a short meditation for peace and happiness to all beings and the Earth’s harmony.
This candidacy is more than a preparation for an electoral act. It is a wide informal citizens movement, created and developed as a core for the common good, a center for a new paradigm in culture, in ethics, a civilizational model which recognizes all links and interdependencies among all living things. As a philosophical and social movement, this resilient-building alternative had to support basic income as one of the practical approaches towards a more just society. Paulo Borges, a former coordinator at the political party PAN, considers basic income to be an evolutionary step forward towards the kind of free and pacified society he envisions.
In order to get in touch with more details on the moral, social, economical and financial grounds for basic income, he has accepted the invitation given to him by the local group of basic income activists, in Lisbon. This meeting occurred on the 8th of October at ISCTE (University Institute of Lisbon), where Paulo Borges shared his vision and debated the basic income concept, at the end of which he recorded this video. In this short improvised speech he summarizes the movement Outro Portugal Existe, his deep connection with Portuguese philosopher Agostinho da Silva’s teachings and his unconditional support for the unconditional basic income.
More information at:
In Portuguese:
Outro Portugal Existe Presidential campaign official website.
TVI24, “Há mais um candidato a Presidente da República [There’s another candidate for President]“, TVI24, July 20 2015
Outro Portugal Existe Facebook page.
by Andre Coelho | Oct 19, 2015 | News
Manuela Gonzaga. Credit to: João Silveira
Next January, Portugal will have new presidential elections. Political activity in Portugal has been intense, and in the aftermath of recent legislative elections, several candidates line up for the political campaign. Manuela Gonzaga is one of those candidates, standing out in this scope, however, for explicitly supporting basic income.
At 64 years old, Manuela, a historian, writer and ex-journalist, has decided to embark in the presidential race in May this year. In her own words, the decision was made to run for President so as to lend her voice to all those who have lost theirs, or that never had it. As in a cry of revolt against the faceless and limitless brutal economic dictatorship, that is suffocating humankind. Manuela is supported by the political party PAN, and just as the latter, is a defender of the basic income concept.
Being so important within a pack of social and political measures, Manuela has explored and deepened her knowledge about basic income and its potential implication in social life. To this end, she and the Lisbon basic income activist group have met and discussed more deeply these potential implications, in a meeting held in the past 22nd of September.
More information at:
In Portuguese:
Wikipédia, “Manuela Gonzaga”.
Miguel Santos, “Manuela Gonzaga. Corrida para Belém tem mais um candidato”, O Observador, August 3 2015
Manuela Gonzaga Presidential official website.
by Andre Coelho | Oct 15, 2015 | News
PAN congressman André Silva (credit to: RTP)
Political party PAN – Pessoas, Animais, Natureza – a minority party in Portugal since its inception in 2009, has increased its votes in the most recent general election (which was on the 4th of October) by 30% relative to 2011. This has allowed PAN to finally elect one congressman. This is of relevance, because PAN will be the first political party in Portugal defending the basic income concept with a seat on the Portuguese parliament. André Silva will be this congressman, who gave a short but hearty speech on the election night. PAN’s elected congressman manifests his availability to search for political stability in the country, establishing dialog with all the other political forces.
Basic income can be found as a feature in PAN’s electoral program (in Portuguese).
More information at:
In Portuguese:
Sandy Gageiro, “O partido Pessoas-Animais-Natureza conseguiu eleger um deputado e afirmou-se disponível para dialogar com as demais forças políticas [Political party PAN managed to elect a congressman and stated its availability to establish dialog with the other parties]“, RTP Website, October 5 2015
by Andre Coelho | Oct 9, 2015 | News
André Barata and Renato Miguel do Carmo (credit to: Fnac Chiado)
Political activists and university professors André Barata and Renato Miguel do Carmo have publicly presented the release of their new book, entitled “O futuro nas mãos – de regresso à política do bem comum” (“The future in our hands – back to common good politics”). This has occurred in Lisboa, the past day 14th of September, at Fnac Chiado.
This book is one of the few examples in Portugal that actually discusses basic income as a possible progressive policy to be applied in Portuguese society. Rampant austerity and the ever increasing burden of debt are eroding the country and so new, encouraging political measures are ripe. The book lists and discusses economic, social and political strategies to promoting genuine opportunities for the people, refusing precarious working conditions and restoring real democratic power.
At the end of the event, André Barata shared his thoughts about the basic income part of his book’s reflection, when asked about it by activists from the Lisboa local basic income activist group, in this short video.
More information at:
In Portuguese:
https://www.culturafnac.pt/o-futuro-nas-maos-de-regresso-a-politica-do-bem-comum/
In Portuguese:
Das Culturas, “O futuro nas mãos – de regresso à política do bem comum [The future in our hands – back to common good politics]“, Das Culturas website, August 28 2015
by Andre Coelho | Sep 10, 2015 | News, Research
After the resounding commercial and critical success of Thomas Piketty’s book “Capital in the twenty-first century”, the author himself responded, in the form of an article in the latest release of Basic Income Studies, to critics and to proponents of Basic Income (BI). As Michael Howard puts it in the introductory paper of the referred edition of Basic Income Studies, “he is wary (…) of treating a cash transfer as a ’magic bullet’.”. However, Thomas Piketty has been a defender of progressive taxation and some forms of BI ever since 1997, particularly the negative income tax (NIT). Although he remains consistent with his prior views on the role of the welfare state, he supports “universal cash transfers for dependent children” and “basic income for all adults with insufficient market income.” Nevertheless despite disagreements, he views basic income as a valid subject of discussion.
In the same Basic Income Studies volume, other authors discuss Piketty’s book from various perspectives. For instance George Grantham evaluates whether Piketty’s view can be reconciled with mainstream economics, while acknowledging that capitalism is surely compatible with a modest basic income. Also Louise Haagh in her article underscores, like Piketty, that BI is not a magic bullet, but indeed an important component for a progressive agenda which promotes social equality and development. In turn, Karl Widerquist stresses that not only entrepreneurs have a tendency to become rentiers but also that inequality depends both on the difference between the rate of return of capital and growth rate of the economy (the famous “r > g” inequality) but also on how much capitalists actually spend in the economy. He adds that, besides progressive taxation, resource taxes should also be imposed, coupled with some form of resource dividend or basic income.
All these authors, among some others that also shared their views on “Capital in the twenty-first century” in the latest issue of Basic Income Studies (Ruben Lo Vuolo, Geoff Crocker and Harry Dahms), essentially agree that social problems are caused by inequality and that new forms of redistribution (or reinforcement of present forms) are essential to restore social balance, or at least reduce inequality for the time being. In the background, remaining to be addressed is the dark cloud of political control, at the moment very much tilted towards the wealthiest members in our society.
Basic Income Studies (cover)
More information at:
Thomas Piketty, “Le Capital au XXIe siècle [Capital in the twenty-first century]“, Catalogue Sciences Humaines et Documents SEUIL.com, September 2013
Ed. by Haagh, Anne-Louise / Howard, Michael, “Basic Income Studies“, De Gruyter, 2015
Credit picture CC Universitat Pompeu Fabra
