Earlier this year we announced the publication of Adrienne Goehler’s new book on Basic Income. The article appears below. An English translation is now available, which can be downloaded here.
This new edition features additional material: an interview with Sarath Davala, and an essay by Julio Linares.
In 2010, Götz Werner and Adrienne Goehler wrote 1000€ für Jeden: Freiheit, Gleichheit, Grundeinkommen (1000€ for everyone: Freedom, Equality, Basic Income). Now Adrienne Goehler has written a new book, Nachhaltigkeit braucht Entschleunigung braucht Grundein/auskommen ermöglicht Entschleunigung ermöglicht Nachhaltigkeit (Sustainability needs Deceleration needs Basic Income | Livelihood allows Deceleration allows Sustainability).
To read an interview with Adrienne Goehler, click here.
Adrienne Goehler has provided the following translation of the website page about the book:
If we had unrestricted basis income for everyone, what would the consequences be? Would it increase freedom and equality and so dim down the ever faster accelerating times? Would it help to save the environment with its restricted resources?
Over the last two years, Adrienne Goehler has been addressing these and other burning questions of our time while working at the “Institut für transformative Nachhaltigkeitsforschung” in Potsdam. In this book that presents the results of her inquiries, she embarks on a journey from research to politics to art. She invited people from the most diverse parts of society to contribute essays, interviews, stories, images, and artistic interventions concerning the relationship of sustainability, deceleration, and basic income. She constellated insights into the financial world with suggestions contributed by experts in agriculture, development policy, climate change, and ecology. Artists address the most important questions of our time: What do we need for a good life and do we have enough of it for all of us? How will “work” look like in the future, and who will be employed? If we learn to think of unpaid and poorly paid social work as equally important as other kinds of work, will that lead to more gender equality? How do we identify meaningful tasks that would fulfill our lives? And last not least: Would implement an unconditional universal basic income as a basic human right be in tune with the seventeen goals of sustainability, as declared by the United Nations? The book offers insights into the possibilities and contradictions of our actions. It presents all the important aspects of contemporary debates concerning universal basic income. A passionate wake-up call: We need to break out of frozen patterns of thinking and acting, strive for knowledge, and move around more freely.
Complaints about acceleration were already associated with industrialization, but in its present extent, its intensification and radicalization, it no longer concerns only working conditions, but the whole of life. Acceleration has totalized itself. The philosopher Byung-Chul Han, author of the book “Fatigue Society”, describes the most important change from capitalism in Marx’s time, when factory owners and workers faced each other in a clearly defined relationship of exploitation, to today’s self-exploitation relationships, in which people became entrepreneurs of themselves, caught in the illusion of self-realization. Thus neo-liberalism formed the oppressed worker into a free entrepreneur who worked incessantly on his self-optimization. We are constantly saving time through faster transportation, fast food, faster information media and tools, and therefore we are packing more and more into the day. Hartmut Rosa calls it, “quantity increase per time unit”. We believe that we have to be available 24/7, as if we were all on call at all times. The present with its unreasonable demands makes us pant, our fantasy lies idle under states of exhaustion and multiple fears. We find ourselves in a hamster wheel whose speed we cannot determine and which many believe we cannot leave. The significantly high increase of depression and burnout are symptoms of this too much, which is at the same time a too little. The time researcher Barbara Adam therefore states: “We need not only an ecological ‘footprint’, but also a ‘timeprint’. I remember with longing “Momo”, the character in Michael Ende’s novel. Momo realized that anyone who has the time of mankind has unlimited power. She brought back time stolen by grey ‘time thieves’ to the people, when she realized that by saving time people had forgotten to live in the now and enjoy the beauty in life. And I am thinking of John Franklin, the polar explorer, whom Stan Nadolny memorialized in his novel “The Discovery of Slowness”, because his perception refused everything fast and superficial and transformed slowness into calm. Time and the feeling of permanent acceleration, breathlessness, is the subject of many interviews. I also feel connected to the idea of deceleration as a further prerequisite for the chance to lead a sustainable life. Hartmut Rosa, who imagines the process of the great transformation as successful only in connection with a different way of dealing with time, is also connected to this idea. And with a basic income.
In addition to the immense challenges outlined above, there is another Herculean task: the comprehensive redefinition of life and work as a result of ongoing digitalization, with which gainful employment will change qualitatively and quantitatively in a variety of ways, some of them very fundamentally. In conjunction with the increasing importance of the service sector, a working society is emerging in which a growing part of the population does not have continuous, let alone lifelong, gainful employment, but instead works independently or on a project-based basis, often accompanied by poorer pay and greater insecurity.
With the start of the digital age in 2002, people were able to store more information digitally than in analogue form for the first time. Another ten years later, the term ‘Work 4.0’ came into circulation to describe the fourth industrial revolution.
Since then, there have been a large number of studies that look at the impact on working life to date. Many of them assume a significant loss of traditional jobs, which will in future be done by machines, and predict radical changes. A frequently quoted – and now also widely criticized – study by the scientists Osborne and Frey from Oxford University assumes that 47 percent of gainful employment in the USA is at high risk of being automated in the coming years. The Davos World Economic Forum estimated in 2016 the number of jobs that will be lost in the next five years in the 15 most important industrial and emerging countries as a result of the “fourth industrial revolution”, 5 million. Women’s jobs were particularly affected. Companies such as Siemens, SAP, Telecom and the big ones in Silicon Valley agreed with these forecasts, which clearly boosted the discussion about an unconditional basic income, because it was strengthened by a rather unexpected side.
Universal Basic Income (UBI) is meant to provide financial security and address job losses. Africa is one continent where UBI is critical. During the COVID-19 outbreak that has rendered many people jobless, it could have been used to prevent them from sliding into poverty.
Universal Basic Income is unconditional cash transfers to recipients guaranteed by the government. Recipients are entitled to the income regardless they are earning or not. The universal basic income is not taxable and recipients can use it for any of their needs. The government has no obligation to follow up on how the payment is used.
Currently, there is no country with a Universal Basic Income in Africa, but there are schemes that can help transition toward a UBI policy. There have been trials in some countries in Africa, such as Kenya, Uganda and Namibia. The trials that were conducted in the three African countries showed positive results. What benefits can we expect from a universal basic income in Africa?
Eliminate Poverty by Generating Income
By introducing Universal Basic Income in Africa, recipients can improve their financial status from low-income earners to medium-income earners. The recipients will have more disposable income to cater to their needs.
This would have been beneficial at the time when many Africans have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Basic income will help to support families and prevent them from sliding into poverty.
Ease of Access to Education for Children
With the guarantee of basic income, children can access education without having to work to support their parents. The lack of income leads to increased school dropouts and consequently early marriages.
Children drop out of school to help their parents generate additional income through informal employment. When casual jobs are not available, children get married early to seek solace and financial support from their spouses.
Providing basic income would help children stay in school since they do not have to look for employment to support their families. While children are in school, early marriages can be eliminated and help them gain an education and live a dignified life.
Promote Entrepreneurship and Increase Job Opportunities
Through UBI, people will have access to more disposable income. When people have access to disposable income, they can take risks and start businesses.
Starting a business requires some capital and enough funding before it can start generating revenue. Basic income can be directed to startups since the government needs not to follow up on how it is used.
The impact of basic income is that people can take risks and start businesses that will consequently create job opportunities. Companies will also help the economy through corporate taxes and income taxes.
Improve Mental and Physical Health
Basic income helps people lead a better life, improving their physical and mental health. The lack of disposable income to cater for the basic needs leads to stress and depression, pushing people to live in deplorable living conditions. Moreover, the lack of income hinders people from accessing health insurance.
The same way the government provides free health and education, it is also best that African governments invest in UBI for the financial security of their citizens. With disposable incomes, recipients can secure health insurance and live a dignified life.
A study carried out by GiveDirectly Organization in 63 Kenyan villages, provided each adult 0.75 dollars per day. The results of the study showed that recipients had an improvement in consumption and well-being. The recipients increased their investments in livestock and home improvement.
Financial and Social Inclusion
The problem of social inclusion is rampant in Africa. The lack of basic income leads to social marginalization, preventing people from accessing modern services like insurance, bank services and technology, such as access to mobile phones.
UBI would help to alleviate social marginalization by assisting people in accessing modern services.
For instance, the government can remit basic income through banks or mobile transfers. As such, people will open bank accounts and buy mobile phones to receive the money. This way, marginalized people can enjoy modern services.
Reduce Financial Gaps between the Rich and the Poor
One of the ways to fund Universal Basic Income is through taxes. Income taxes can lead to a fair distribution of wealth by taxing high-income earners and reducing wealth gaps. Africa is the leading continent with huge income disparities between the high-income earners and low-income earners.
Low skilled workers barely get incremental increases in their wages, pushing them into adverse poverty with increasing inflation. Through UBI, the government can tax high-income earners and redistribute the proceeds to low-income earners.
Family Cohesiveness and Stability
In many African countries, there is domestic violence due to the inability to cater to family needs and depression. The survivors of domestic violence cannot leave their spouses because they lack a stable income. If the survivors can access basic income, they can leave their spouses and meet their basic needs.
Also, if there is a guaranteed income, depression and stress can be eliminated, reducing domestic violence.
In many African countries such as Kenya, parents give birth to many children for cheap labour and security during their old age. If there is a guarantee of regular income, parents would not need to raise many children to support them when they grow old.
How to Fund the Universal Basic Income in Africa
There are many ways through which African governments can fund Universal Basic Income through taxes and creativity. These are some of the ways to finance the Universal Basic Income in Africa.
Reducing Government Expenditures
Reducing government expenditures can set aside some monies that can be directed to fund basic incomes. African governments can reduce some funding to revenue-generating state corporations. Some of the revenues they generate can be directed to the basic income initiative. Most of the recurrent expenditures for government institutions can be halted.
Higher Taxes for High-Income Earners
Through higher taxes from higher-income earners, governments can generate funds to finance basic income initiatives. It would also help to reduce income disparities between the rich and the poor. For instance, governments can introduce a luxury tax and wealth tax above a fixed net worth.
Increase Corporate Taxes and Reduce Financial Benefits to Leaders
African governments can increase corporate taxes by three percent to generate additional revenue for UBI. Additionally, governments can reduce some benefits for politicians. The monies can be redirected to a basic income to promote recipient welfare.
Final Thoughts
African governments should invest in basic income for its citizens. Basic income is equally important in a nation like other social amenities such as health and education. It leads to general wellbeing, social cohesion, and productivity. In addition, by affording basic needs such as food, shelter and clothing, citizens live a dignified life. Finally, basic income will promote mental health. Poverty and social injustice can lead to poor mental health and related illnesses.
Author Bio:
Vincent Nyoike is a Kenyan research writer with vast writing experience. He is a graduate of the University of Eldoret with a degree in Applied Statistics with Computing. He has also pursued a course in Certified Public Accountant. From his experience in business, he enjoys writing on finance and business topics, with a particular focus on Africa. He also works on SEO projects for private international organisations.
Universal Basic Income (UBI) is making significant progress in Brazil, according to the following letter former Senator Eduardo Suplicy sent to leaders of BIEN. (See also: Maricá one step from Universal Basic Income):
my dear friends of BIEN:
Let me inform you what I consider another positive step in favor of the Citizen’s Basic Income, Universal and Unconditional. Yesterday we had municipal elections in all Brazilian cities. As a candidate for being reelected citycouncilman I got 167.552 votes, the most voted candidate for a citycouncilman in the city of São Paulo or in any other city of Brazil.
It is also a very good news for the objectives of BIEN that the Mayor of Maricá, Fabiano Horta of the PT (Worker’s Party), who has started the institution of a Basic Income, has been reelected with 88% of the votes. Since December 2019, ¼ of the population of 162 thousand people, 42.500 inhabitants started to receive a Basic Income of 300 mumbucas per month, a social money (each mumbuca is equal to one real – each dollar is equal to R$ 5.42). By December 2020, ½ of the population will be receiving it and by 2024 the whole population of Maricá will be receiving the Citizen’s Basic Income.
I have already informed you that last July 21st, 220 federal deputies and senators formed the Parliamentary Front in Defense of the Basic Income. The President João Henrique Campos invited me to be the President of Honor due to the fact that I am the author of the Law 10.835/2004 that institutes, step by step, starting with those most in need, the Citizen’s Basic Income.
Therefore, Brazil is moving, step by step, towards UBI.
On September 19, 2020, people marched for UBI all over the world even in New Orleans where a steady rain came down all day. This blog post has videos and pictures from the march. It was an honor for me to be asked to speak to this group of people who came out on the rain and stayed out for several hours even as the rain kept coming. It was great to think that we were one small part of a march that took place all over teh world–on all six of the inhabited continents. Next year: UBI march Antarctica! Meet me there.
First, 6 videos:
Video of the UBI march and some of the accompanying speeches, September 19, 2020
Jeremy Habegger’s speech recorded after the rain subsided
Karl Widerquist’s speech in the rain
Antoine Pierce speaking at the UBI march
Scott Santens speaking at the UBI March
Basic Income marchers join Black Lives Matter to kneel for police reform
A three-year-long project documenting the impact of a small basic income trial in the United States is entering its final stages before release. Director Conrad Shaw said the goal of this project was not solely about what a permanent basic income system would look like, but more so a means to “explore what people do with extra unconditional cash.”
Aside from the financial struggles in the early stages, Shaw appreciates the series of events that occurred, which allowed the project to be illustrative of what a real basic income might look like in a crisis. Whether it be the hurricanes or the ongoing pandemic, a string of “scenarios” presented themselves and provided the perfect conditions to see where basic income can really make an impact during uncertain times.
“It’s just crazy how things lined up in the last several years, to give a lot of very poignant case studies,” he said.
The most dramatic changes Shaw’s team observed were the participant’s relationships and their psyche. Other than the day-to-day differences, the boost in self-confidence and change in their whole demeanor at the end of the trial held the most significance to Conrad.
“There’s an element of confidence that comes along with just being able to try what you want to try, to be able to take those shots,” Shaw said when asked to elaborate on the psychological effects the participants experienced. He said basic income allowed people to feel like they have always got a way to plan and move forward.
“People felt free to pursue the things that they wanted to for a very long time,” he said.
An important aspect of making the cash “unconditional” was to make sure the process was not something participants did not have to jump through hoops or constantly think about. They also wanted to make sure the recipients were not only using the money to pay for health care.
When asked about what he would do differently and what his future projects would be, Shaw said he wished there is more political movement on basic income going forward. He said he was disappointed that presidential candidate Andrew Yang was not able to take his basic income policy further in the Democratic primary.
While Shaw said the passage of basic income will be highly influenced by the political climate, he said he hopes that future work can evaluate the possible combined impact of universal health care and basic income when provided together.
Nonetheless, Shaw said he wanted to come at the project from a neutral academic view by choosing participants from a wide array of backgrounds across the United States. He said the project was a success in that it demonstrated the possibly life-changing effects of basic income for some recipients while leaving it up to the audience to interpret the results.
“The sort of the transition between before and during and after basic income was very dramatic; they were in a very different place after than when than one they started so you know, just objectively it seemed like a pretty significant potentially permanent sort of change,” Shaw said.
Rampant disparities within the capital/labor share, increased pressure on climatically vulnerable communities and mass international migration due to economic hardship or violence. All that without mentioning the ever-haunting specter of automation-induced unemployment and, finally, the outbreak of a world-reaching pandemic: these are some of the ongoing cataclysmic trends that are making an ever increasing number of academics, policymakers and multilateral organizations revisit the adoption of Universal Basic Income (UBI) models. The idea of furnishing guaranteed, unconditional and universal basic income for people within an assigned geographical locality – and potentially the entire globe – has ebbed and flown from the pages of authors of all walks of the political spectrum for over two centuries. It appears, though, that such an idea is regaining momentum at this point in history, a somewhat unexpected moment, given the worldwide rise of nationalistic and illiberalism worldviews. The ambition of this proposal is not to promote an exhaustive comparative assessment of competing proposals currently taking place – or being aspired at – around the world. Instead, this working paper stands as an introductory effort to be followed by a more robust case study of existing schemes, which should bind them under the theories of Multipolarity. This proposal launches the cornerstone of a debate assessing the concrete costs and political coordination challenges that are likely to arise in a scenario of massive and ideally genuine universal effort to start or scale-up existing UBI initiatives through the deployment of digital financing techniques, including its most disruptive variations such as cryptocurrencies.
