by Peter Knight | Jun 3, 2026 | Events, News
New open access publications on basic income and sustainable welfare
Two new articles in Philosophy Compass examine the role of basic income (BI) in the green transformation of advanced welfare states:
“Basic Income—A Transformative Policy for Sustainable Welfare? Part 1: Four Arguments for Basic Income as an Eco-Social Tool”
“Basic Income—A Transformative Policy for Sustainable Welfare? Part 2: Four Paradoxes in the Eco-Social Case for Basic Income”
Authored by Simon Birnbaum (Professor of Political Science, Södertörn University, Stockholm, Sweden), the two-part contribution offers both a systematic reconstruction and a critical assessment of the eco-social case for basic income.
Part 1 clarifies and develops four distinct lines of argument—drawn from normative theory and policy discourse—suggesting that unconditional basic income may have unique advantages over conditional welfare schemes in promoting sustainable welfare outcomes.
Part 2 complements this by identifying four structural paradoxes that reveal deep tensions between the ecological and social objectives often associated with basic income. These tensions help explain why claims about BI as a transformative green policy may be overstated, while also pointing toward more nuanced and constructive ways of specifying its potential role.
Taken together, the articles provide an analytically rigorous contribution to ongoing debates at the intersection of political philosophy, welfare state research, and environmental politics.
by Doreen Nicoll | May 12, 2026 | Events, News
Ontario Basic Income recipient – Photo credit: Jessie Golem
The Basic Income Canada Network (BICN) along with allies including Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) are organizing the 2026 Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) Congress being held in Toronto from August 20 to 22, 2026. The theme of the BIEN Congress is Basic Income & the Polycrisis: The key to unlocking the puzzle.
The Congress will mark BIEN’s 40th anniversary and it is a testament to how the Basic Income movement has grown internationally as well as how people from a wide array of countries have shared their knowledge and findings.
In fact, the Basic Income movement has accumulated so much knowledge that organizing and sustaining institutional capacity may be the greatest challenge it now faces.
To read the full article, click here.
by Jurgen De Wispelaere | Apr 22, 2026 | Events, Featured, News
On 7 June 2026, BIEN Treasurer Lindsay Stirton is running the Rio Marathon to raise money for the BIEN Congress Solidarity Fund.
The Congress Solidarity Fund exists to help low-income participants attend BIEN’s annual Congress by contributing towards essential costs such as travel, accommodation and visa applications.
BIEN’s annual Congress is the major global meeting for people advocating for, researching debating and putting into practice basic income in all its dimensions, which this year takes place 19–22 August in Toronto, Canada.
Basic income is, at heart, about security, dignity and inclusion. Supporting broader participation in the BIEN Congress is one practical way of advancing those same values. A serious global conversation about economic security should itself be open to people from a wide range of backgrounds and circumstances.
Lindsay is running the Rio Marathon to help make that happen. Every donation, large or small, will support the BIEN Congress Solidarity Fund and help widen access to the most important international gathering devoted to basic income.
You can donate here: https://bien.enthuse.com/pf/lindsay-stirton. Spread the word across our community and please donate if you can!
by Neil Howard | Feb 3, 2026 | Events, News, Research
Abstract
Increasing calls for reform to welfare provision have seen growing support for
basic income (BI) – the unconditional provision of cash transfers to all. As a
result, recent years have seen an exponential increase in the number of pilot
experiments of BI, across all parts of the world. However, to date, there has
been little discussion of the ethical considerations of such experiments. This
paper is the outcome of a workshop whereby BI piloters came together to
discuss such ethical considerations, share case studies, and begin to formulate
general principles to guide ethical BI experiments. The paper discusses the
ethical considerations relevant to the various stages of a pilot experiment and
concludes with some general principles: to do-no-harm, maintain respect,
dignity, and agency; mitigate power inequalities, promote trust and
transparency, and ensure substantive unconditionality. The paper hopes to
stimulate discussions towards an ethical protocol for better practice in BI
experiments and provide a useful resource to those working on, or interested
in, BI research.
To read the full article click here.
by Peter Knight | Nov 27, 2025 | Events, News
by Reinhard Huss | Nov 23, 2025 | Events, News
When? Wednesday, December 3, 2025, 6:30-8:00 PM UK GMT
Where? Online (Zoom)
UBI Lab Arts, UBI Lab Leeds, UBI Lab Network and Basic Income Ireland present:
Please join us for the seventh in our special series of discussions dedicated to reflecting on what we can learn from the Irish Basic Income for the Arts Pilot Scheme.
For details and registration, click here.
