by Yannick Vanderborght | Apr 5, 2012 | Research
In order to celebrate its 10th anniversary, Red Renta Básica (Spain’s basic income national network, officially recognized by BIEN) has coedited (with the publishing house Montesinos) a volume with chapters written by some of its members and friends:
Jordi Arcarons (“Financing Basic Income”), Borja Barragué (“Basic Income and the Bank of Justice”), Sara Berbel (“An Income for Gender Equality”), David Casassas and Jurgen De Wispelaere (“Basic Income and Social Emancipation: Principles, Designs, and Coalitions”), Mònica Clua-Losada (“Basic Income on the Political Agenda: The Catalan Experience”), Rubén Lo Vuolo, Pablo Yanes, and Daniel Raventós (“Economic Crisis, Targeted Schemes, and Basic Income”), Gorka Moreno (“What Does Basic Income Contribute to the Debate on Citizenship? A Synthesis Proposal”), Francisco Ramos (“Active Employment Policies and Basic Income: Substitutive or Complementary Solutions?”), Daniel Raventós (“What Do We Mean When We Say That Basic Income Is (or Is Not) Just? On Liberalisms and Republicanisms”), Sergi Raventós (“Crisis, Mental Health and Basic Income”), José Luis Rey (“Basic Income and 21st Century Democracy”), Luis Sanzo (“Basic Income and Social Protection in Spain”), and Camila Vollenweider (“Employee Domestic Labor and Gender Equity: An Inescapable Problem for the Feminist Discussion on Basic Income”).
Full references: CASASSAS, D. and RAVENTÓS, D. (eds.) (2011), La renta básica en la era de las grandes desigualdades [Basic income in the age of great inequalities], Barcelona: Montesinos, 343 pp, ISBN: 978-84-15216-27-8.
For further information: https://www.editorial-montesinos.com/detalleLibro.php?idLibro=284.
by Yannick Vanderborght | Apr 3, 2012 | Research
In this opinion piece published by the French daily Le Monde (March 6, 2012), Philippe Van Parijs (Louvain University, Hoover Chair) compares the eurozone with the United States. Inspired by the works of Martin Feldstein and others, he argues that the eurozone will only be viable at the price of increased interpersonal solidarity. This solidarity, Van Parijs argues, should take the form of a modest individual income floor funded by VAT, i.e. a so-called “Euro-Dividend”.
The piece (in French) is online at:
https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2012/03/06/pas-d-eurozone-viable-sans-euro-dividende_1652164_3232.html
A Dutch version has been published by the Belgian daily De Morgen: https://www.demorgen.be/dm/nl/2461/De-Gedachte/article/detail/1400934/2012/02/28/Geen-duurzame-euro-zonder-eurodividend.dhtml
by Yannick Vanderborght | Apr 3, 2012 | Research
This special issue of the journal Academia Juris Booklet (in Japanese) is edited by Prof. Miyamoto Taro (Faculty of Law, Hokkaido University), one of Japan’s leading expert in social security reform.
It includes one paper by Yannick Vanderborght (Louvain University and Facultés Saint-Louis Brussels) entitled ‘Universal Basic Income and the Tensions of Welfare State Reform’; and one paper by Jorgen Goul Andersen (Aalborg University) entitled ‘Evolution of activation policies in Denmark’. Both papers are in Japanese.
In his introduction, Prof. Miyamoto stresses the fact that basic income and activation policies are not incompatible, and argues that both approaches could contribute to a more inclusive social security system.
Full references: MIYAMOTO, Taro (ed.) (2010), ‘Activation or basic income. Principles of welfare reform.’ Academia Juris Booklet, issue 30. Available online at: https://www.juris.hokudai.ac.jp/~academia/booklet/booklet30.html
by Yannick Vanderborght | Apr 3, 2012 | Research
The idea of guaranteeing every member of society an unconditional basic income is one the most innovative and powerful proposals for countering our growing economic inequalities and to sustainably prevent poverty. But would this be a just thing to do? In the last few decades, debates on the ethics and economics of basic income have become increasingly sophisticated and diverse. Basic Income Reconsidered provides an up-to-date assessment of these arguments, and works out a novel contribution based on the justification of unconditional universalism. Simon Birnbaum (Stockholm University, Sweden) studies the basic income proposal, and its main rivals, through the lens of John Rawls’ theory of justice and defends a radical-liberal interpretation of Rawls’ conception. It is radical in the sense that it demands far-reaching equalization of opportunities. It is, at the same time, liberal by insisting that people must be left free to use their resource shares for a much wider range of purposes and life plans than those typically accessible through existing welfare states.
According to Philippe Van Parijs, Birnbaum’s new book is “one of the most insightful and comprehensive treatments so far of the ethical foundations of radical welfare reform”.
Full references: BIRNBAUM, Simon (2012), Basic Income Reconsidered. Social Justice, Liberalism, and the Demands of Equality, New York: Palgrave Macmillan (“Exploring the basic income guarantee” series).
For further information, see the publisher’s page at: https://us.macmillan.com/basicincomereconsidered/SimonBirnbaum
by Yannick Vanderborght | Apr 2, 2012 | News
Finland’s basic income network has just launched a campaign for a citizens’ initiative for a universal basic income on March 28th, 2012, in Helsinki. The Citizens’ Initiative Act came into force in Finland at the beginning of March 2012, but since appropriate online service for collecting signatures is still missing, only preliminary supporters are being gathered. Citizens’ initiatives can be sent for parliamentary handling if they are signed by 50,000 people. The citizens’ initiative claims for a basic income which corresponds to the minimum level of current basic social security benefits, to be granted on an individual basis to all adult permanent residents in Finland. The initiative was drafted by a working group of people from different political parties and NGO’s. Due to this initiative and other campaigns, basic income has recently become a hot topic in the Finnish media and political activism.
Basic income network Finland: https://perustulo.org/
A newspaper article (in English) on this initiative:
https://www.hs.fi/english/article/Lack+of+appropriate+online+services+waters+down+new+Citizens%E2%80%99+Initiative+Act+/1329103710144
