by Dave Clegg | Aug 11, 2016 | Opinion
Guy Standing has published a new book that became available on July 14, 2016, published by BiteBack.
The book notes that the implications of the Age of Rentier Capitalism go beyond the economic sphere as the plutocracy fund and influence political parties, while media ownership is concentrated in the hands of a few powerful individuals.The Corruption of Capitalism shows why, in the interests of democracy and our common wealth, the rise of rentier capitalism must be resisted. If it is not, we risk dire social and political consequences.
A summary from the publisher states: ”
There is a lie at the heart of global capitalism. Politicians, financiers and global bureaucrats claim to believe in free competitive markets, but have constructed the most unfree market system ever. It is corrupt because income is channelled to the owners of property – financial, physical and intellectual – at the expense of society.
This book reveals how global capitalism is rigged in favour of rentiers to the detriment of all of us, especially the precariat. A plutocracy and elite enriches itself, not through production of goods and services, but through ownership of assets, including intellectual property, aided by subsidies, tax breaks, debt mechanisms, revolving doors between politics and business, and the privatisation of public services. Rentier capitalism is entrenched by the corruption of democracy, manipulated by the plutocracy and an elite-dominated media.
Meanwhile, wages stagnate as labour markets are transformed by outsourcing, automation and the on-demand economy, generating more rental income while expanding the precariat.
The Corruption of Capitalism argues that rentier capitalism is fostering revolt, and concludes by outlining a new income distribution system that would achieve the extinction of the rentier while promoting sustainable growth.”
To view and pre-order the book online, visit: https://www.bitebackpublishing.com/books/the-corruption-of-capitalism
by Guest Contributor | Aug 10, 2016 | Opinion
By Alexander de Roo
The 20th century was the century of social democracy in Western Europe. But nowadays the social democratic model of the welfare state is in deep crisis. This model — in which paid work is central, full (male) employment is the norm, and social benefits are dependent on performance in paid work — is no longer working and no longer appealing to voters.
The strong political position of social democracy in Western Europe has been based on the strength of labor unions. Economic changes, however, have accelerated the declining membership of unions. The strength of the various social democratic parties has thus been structurally eroded. Consumption and leisure time are becoming ever more important. These factors open the way for basic income as the economic model for the 21st century.
There is a strong relationship between the strength of the unions and the popularity of the Dutch Labor Party in national elections. In the chart below, the dotted line represents the strength of the unions, while the continuous line represents the strength of the Labor Party:
As you can see, there is a structural relationship between the strength of the unions and the electoral strength of the Dutch Labor Party (PvdA – the social democratic party of the Netherlands). The unions are slowly losing members in the Netherlands. The decline is largely due to structural changes in advanced economies. For example, total manufacturing employment in America has fallen from nearly 20 million in 1979 to 12 million today. The kinds of workers who have lost out — unskilled men, in particular — were precisely those who were most likely to belong to a union in the first place. And what has sprung up in their place further undermines unions. If you went to a factory in the 1970s, you would have seen assembly lines of people. Such workers were much more amenable to the idea of “class consciousness”. Go to a factory today and you might you find a few people monitoring robots and other whizzy bits of machinery. Add other economic changes to the mix — globalization (which makes it harder for unions to regulate work), the rise of a more flexible service sector and government policies — and the loss of union clout seems inevitable. More recent reforms to minimum wage and workplace discrimination have also reduced the need felt by individuals to belong to a union.
The decline of the Dutch Christian Democratic party
Additionally, the other political party essential to the construction of the Dutch welfare state, the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), is in structural decline. Below, we see the electoral results of the CDA over the last 60 years – from an absolute majority in the 1950s and early 1960s to only 10 percent in the 2012 elections.
The blue line represents the three different Christian democratic parties in the Netherlands, which merged in 1980 to form the singular CDA – represented by the green line.
In the general election of 2006 — before the 2008 economic crisis — the CDA and the PvdA together had 46 percent of the vote. That proportion dropped to 32 percent in both the 2010 and 2012 national elections. Today, according to opinion polls, these two parties together command just over 20 percent of the vote. That is to say, the parties of the old social model have declined from 46 percent in 2006 to 20 percent in 2016, losing more than half their support in just 10 years.
Conclusion: Political support for the old welfare state, developed by the Labor Party and the Christian Democratic Appeal, along with the unions, has been completely eroded.
The Dutch Precariat: Almost 40 percent
“In the 21st century, technological changes are being introduced into economic and social life at a much faster pace than in the 20th century,” noted Dennis Meadows, one of the authors of Limits to Growth, in a 2012 lecture in Brussels.
One of the most important trends has been the rise of flexible work. This has been especially strong in the Netherlands. Today 20 percent of Dutch workers, amounting to 1.7 million people, are on flexible contracts. The increase seems unstoppable. Unions are demanding that politicians repair this state of affairs by restoring the old model of stable, regulated jobs through legislation.
Alongside the 1.7 million flex workers are 1.3 million people who are self-employed. At least 20 percent of these – 0.3 million people – became self-employed due to a lack of alternatives. The graph below shows the increase in flexible jobs over last 10 years, and the corresponding decrease in regular jobs. The blue bars signify the increase in the number of flex workers, while the brown bars indicate the change (usually negative) in the number of regular workers.
Additionally, there are 0.6 million people officially registered as unemployed, and 0.4 million who depend on social benefits (“Bij-stand” in Dutch). In total, 3 million people and their dependents form the Dutch precariat. Approximately 5 million people still have regular jobs – 10 percent fewer than 10 years ago. And automatization is threatening even these jobs. In the debate in The Netherlands, the position that the rise of the robots will lead to structural unemployment is still minor. However, studies like one from Oxford University show that approximately 50 percent of the jobs that exist today will no longer be secure in 20 years’ time (THE FUTURE OF EMPLOYMENT: HOW SUSCEPTIBLE ARE JOBS TO COMPUTERISATION? Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael A. Osborne; September 17, 2013).
Opportunities for basic income implementation are growing in the Netherlands
“Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.” – Victor Hugo
The decline of the two old parties that built the Dutch welfare state, combined with the rise in number of the Dutch precariat, opens the way for a post-social democratic pathway. Basic income has the strongest card. In contrast to the 1980s and 1990s, large parts of the Dutch population are now receptive to the idea of basic income, given that the present welfare system is – in their eyes – no longer worth fighting for.
History of the basic income debate in the Netherlands
There was fierce debate about basic income in the 1980s and 90s in the Netherlands. The Dutch branch of BIEN, “Vereniging Basisinkomen”, was founded in 1989. Before that, an organization called “Workshop Basic Income” promoted the idea. The PvdA almost adopted basic income in its national election program in 1993 (with 40 percent in favor). Then, in 1994, there was a debate about basic income in the national government. On the side of basic income were the Minister of Economic Affairs, Hans Wijers (of Democrats 66, left wing liberals), and the Minister of Finance, Gerrit Zalm (the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, right wing liberals). On the other side, the Prime Minister, Wim Kok (of the PvdA), argued successfully that basic income’s time had not yet come, claiming it to be a topic for 30 years down the line. The economic upswing of the early years of the new millennium subsequently overshadowed this discussion in the Netherlands.
The financial and economic crisis of 2008 changed the economic and political landscape. And, over the past three years, the basic income discussion has returned to the Netherlands, becoming much more intense than it was 25 years ago.
Even with the recent economic upswing, the old status quo — under which almost all adult citizens had a secure, regular job — is history. A new scheme of social security is urgently necessary. The general public recognizes this.
National poll: 40 percent in favor; 15 percent don’t know; 45 percent against basic income
In a recent national poll, 40 percent of the Dutch population declared themselves to be in favor of a basic income, with 45 percent against and 15 percent expressing uncertainty. The voters of the three left wing parties are in favor, with their endorsement breaking down as follows: GreenLeft 60 percent, the Socialist Party 54 percent, and PvdA 53 percent.
The votes of Democrats 66 are divided, with 44 percent in favor and 45 percent against. The followers of the right wing parties, by contrast, are quite clearly against basic income: 73 percent against in People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, and 61 percent against in CDA. It is interesting to note that voters of the populist right wing Party for Freedom, headed by Geert Wilders, are also divided, with 37 percent in favor, 46 percent against and 17 percent uncertain. The Party for Freedom is the biggest party in current polls.
Enthusiasm
When we hand out our basic income leaflets to the general public, about 50 percent of people take the pamphlet and react positively, while the other half ignores us. Several times a young couple, arm in arm, would pass me – the young man would nod that he was not interested, but the young woman would leave him to walk back and collect a leaflet! We have lively discussions with the public. Even young people who were not alive 25 years ago, when that first debate raged, have already a very good idea of what basic income is. I have been active in politics for 42 years and I have never encountered so much enthusiasm.
Free money for everyone
The return of the basic income idea to the Dutch debate has been invigorated by a book by the young historian Rutger Bregman (only 28 years of age), Gratis Geld voor Iedereen (Free Money for Everyone), which was published in September 2014, along with a few national television documentaries. Bregman’s influential book on basic income is now available in English, under the title Utopia for Realists.
Petition for the Dutch parliament
A petition to put basic income on the agenda of the Dutch parliament gathered 50,000 signatures over a couple of months. The intention is to generate 100,000 signatures by autumn so that basic income can play a role in the election campaign for the Dutch national elections in March 2017.
Local experiments with basic income
Several basic income experiments are planned in the Netherlands. Nineteen municipalities have officially declared their willingness to initiate such an experiment to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment. Utrecht, Groningen, Tilburg and Wageningen were the first four to do so, and they are currently in conversation with the State Secretary for Social Affairs and Employment in order to establish the necessary space in the law. These experiments will not comprise trials of a full basic income, even though many are based on the idea of a basic income. Instead, elements of a basic income are to be implemented in these experiments within the rubric of the current Dutch minimum welfare scheme (“Bij-stand”). More precisely, for the experiment participants, allowances will be made unconditional, allowing recipients of the minimum welfare to earn money simultaneously and thereby removing the currently existing poverty trap.
Various questions will be addresed by these experiments:
- Will people become more active if they are free to do what they want, as compared to the present situation under which they must apply for jobs and be policed?
- Will people become more autonomous?
- Will people become healthier?
- Will people be quicker to participate in paid work if they are allowed to earn in addition to receiving their allowance?
A large majority of the parliament is in favor of the experiments, but the details are still under discussion nationally, and there is a legal process that must be completed. If all goes well, the first experiments will start in January 2017.
Why have the experiments not yet started? Will there be 25 experiments in 2017?
The experiments should have already started, in fact, but the national government is very slow in giving the green light. The Dutch GreenLeft asked the national parliament in November 2015 to clear the way for these experiments. Fifteen of the 17 political groups in the national parliament said yes, with only Wilders’ Party for Freedom and Prime Minister Rutte’s People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy saying no. According to the latest update, the government is now working on an administrative decree which will allow the 25 most advanced municipalities to start their experiments in January 2017. That is likely to annoy the other 50 municipalities that also wish to initiate their own experiments.
Since the national elections are set for March 17th, 2017, this issue will most likely play a role in the national election campaign. It is likely that the left wing parties (GreenLeft, PvdA and, perhaps, the Socialist Party) will put forward demands for a Finnish-style experiment of basic income during the 2007 national election. One small party, the Cultural Liberal Party, is already advocating for the introduction of a basic income of €800 in the Netherlands.
Funding of basic income should be based on consumption rather than labor
The Dutch branch of BIEN has developed a model to raise VAT and environmental taxes, while removing most tax exemptions, to fund a basic income of €1100 per person. In the long run, this amount should be increased to €1400. The option of a small tax on financial transactions is also of interest in this regard. We oppose models that would fund basic income solely on an increase of taxes on labor. The Dutch Central Planning Bureau did just that in 2006, resulting in 56 percent income tax for everyone and a five percent increase in unemployment. We are instead fighting for a new calculation based on increasing consumption taxes so as to make it clear to the public that a basic income is (easily) affordable.
Alexander de Roo (alexanderderoo@gmail.com) was one of the founding fathers of BIEN and served as BIEN’s treasurer from 1986-2006. He studied chemical technology in Delft (1972-1978) and political science in Amsterdam (1976-1982), and was a GreenLeft Member of the European Parliament from 1999-2004.
Alexander de Roo photo credit: Bill Crompton.
Content reviewed by Genevieve Shanahan and Kate McFarland.
by Kate McFarland | Aug 4, 2016 | News
BIEN Co-founder Guy Standing, Research Professor at SOAS, University of London, will be speaking at two events at a conference aptly named “The Conference”. Organized by Media Evolution, a cluster of media companies in southern Sweden, The Conference will bring together 40 speakers to educate its 1,000 participants about a variety of topics relevant to the new digital world. This not-for-profit event will be held in Malmö from August 16-17, with various “side events” taking place nearby from August 15-19.
On Wednesday, August 17, Standing will participate in a session titled “Humans, Labour, and Technology” — concerning disruptions of work and the economy due to digital technologies. According to his conference page, Standing will speak about “why rentiers thrive and work does not pay,” “the coming precariat revolt,” and “why a basic income is essential.”
For this session, Standing will be joined by Sha Hwang, the co-founder of Nava, a team of designers and developers that initially formed as a part of efforts to fix HealthCare.gov. While Standing will talk about the growing precariat class, Sha will discuss the motivations and responsibilities of the tech industry and government.
On Thursday, August 18, Standing will take part in a side event on technology and migration. Other speakers at this side event include Dragana Kaurin, an ethnographer and human rights researcher, and entrepreneur Hampus Jakobsson.
According to the description, the Thursday event is set in the “most cozy courtyard in the world” (at Hedmanska gården), and it will begin about an hour after the skinny dipping event at the cold bathing house Ribersborgs Kallbadhus (pictured).
Other presentation topics at The Conference range from online harassment to the communication strategies of extremist groups to the future of food.
The Conference is sold out. Registration is still open to some of the side events (including, at the time of writing, the skinny dipping).
Photo CC Xuanxu
Thanks, as always, to my supporters on Patreon!
by Florie Barnhoorn | Jul 30, 2016 | News
Highlights from the first half of 2016
The early days of 2016 brought a pleasant surprise for the Vereniging Basisinkomen (VBi; Association for a Basic Income), the Dutch branch of BIEN, which celebrated its 25 year anniversary in January. The political leader of the small Cultural Liberal Party, Norbert Klein, initiated a memorandum for the Members of The Tweede Kamer (Second Chamber) of Parliament. “The labour market is changed fundamentally. The introduction of new, innovative concepts like a basic income are urgently needed to prevent large scale social inequality, social unrest and to provide income protection,” he argued in his memo called Zeker Flexibel (Security and Flexibility). This was the first time since the 2000s that the highest political levels were challenged to discuss basic income.
However, the Minister for Social Affairs and Employment, Lodewijk Asscher (of the Partij van de Arbeid or Labour Party) said that although he recognizes the importance of a social and political debate on the future shape of social systems, I’m sure having some great lobbying tips would help in these efforts. He prefers to continue with the existing policy, because he cannot guarantee that areas such as healthcare and social participation would be secured after the introduction of a basic income.
According to Guy Standing at the opening of the 16th World Congress of BIEN, held in Seoul 7-9 July 2016, the best way to attract the attention of politicians is to highlight the growth of the precariat and the growth of related social unrest. The unconditional basic income (UBI) is the most practical, feasible and positively inspiring response to those problems for years to come.
A recent poll by Dalia Research found that 68% of people across all 28 EU member states said they would definitely or probably vote for a universal basic income proposal.
In recent years, the VBi too witnessed an increasing interest in the idea of a basic income, not only among the general public but also in the media. The association increased from a handful of older members in 1991 to a robust movement with more than 500 subscribers both young and elderly. This growing awareness has compelled the VBi to think about new strategies to spread the message: the implementation of an UBI in The Netherlands.
One of these strategies is the establishment of so-called ‘Basisteams’ (Basic teams), local groups who have the important task to inform people and to raise enthusiasm among the population for the advantages of a basic income. Full knowledge of the concept of a UBI is a prerequisite that must lead to political decision-making and acceptance.
Nowadays there are about ten active groups and eight more groups in the pipeline. The groups differ considerably in size and scope. Some are large and put their focus on the organisation of meetings and debates; others are smaller, more regionally oriented. Mostly they start with making a page on Facebook. They come together in the local pub or community centre, hand out pamphlets and deliberate about how to change old systems into something entirely new. The vice-president of the VBi coordinates the ‘Basic teams’.
A crucial achievement of the local groups is that they have convinced municipalities to start experiments with a basic income in their communities.
Utrecht Sunset CC Tambako The Jaguar (flickr)
The pilot in Utrecht among welfare beneficiaries, conceived mainly with the intention to get rid of the sanctions and the obligation to apply for jobs under the current welfare scheme, is set for January 2017. Another four experiments — in Wageningen, Tilburg, Groningen and Nijmegen — will follow as soon as the Secretary of State for Social Affairs and Employment, Jetta Klijnsma (Labour Party), has finalized the administrative decree for allowing experiments in the context of the welfare system.
More experiments will follow as long as basic teams continue to push the local authorities to start pilots with a basic income. Often, these groups are helped by the Dutch Green party, not only on a local level, but also on the national level. In November 2015, the Green Party succeeded in clearing the way for experiments by filing a motion to parliament. It was supported by all political parties, except those of the right-wing liberals of Prime Minister Mark Rutte and the populist Freedom Party of Geert Wilders.
The VBi has also called upon its active members to reach out to co-fighters within their political parties and labour unions and to start discussions during meetings and congresses. As a result, some political parties have positively responded to the idea of a basic income as a social agenda for the sake of the general welfare and against precarious conditions and growing inequality.
After the Green Party and the Democrats 66, the majority (61%) of the Partij van de Arbeid (Labour Party) recently voted for a large experiment with a basic income. The leadership is not yet convinced, but members are very committed to the idea of a basic income and they want the issue to play a major role in the forthcoming campaign for the national elections of March 2017. “A basic income as part of the modern welfare state becomes more and more the ultimate goal for people. A society that includes everyone and where everybody contributes according to their capacities and needs: paid work, volunteering, education, the establishment of a company, et cetera,” says VBi’s most active member in political lobbying.
Many voters of the far left (Socialist Party) endorse the idea of a basic income. However, the leadership has firmly rejected it. Hence the party decided not to adopt it.
Last June, the youth organisation of Democrats 66 passed a policy framework “Moedig Voorwaarts” (Courageous Forward) that states that every adult will receive €600 – €1200 per month and each child €300. The proposal guarantees that nobody will live in poverty. The creation of a basic income is to also be combined with tax reforms.
Last spring a National Poll was held about the following question:
Everyone receives a basic income from the government, regardless of other income and without the obligation to work. The system of taxes and benefits will be adjusted accordingly. Do you find this a good idea?
The results were encouraging: 40% of those surveyed said they are in favour of a basic income as described in the poll, 45% said they are against it and 15% didn’t know.
Most members of right-wing parties declared themselves to be against the idea: 73% of right wing liberals and 61% of the Christian Democrats. Supporters and opponents were roughly in balance among the supporters of Democrats 66: 44% and 45% respectively. Most voters of three left-wing parties were in favour: 60% of the Green party, 54% of the Socialist Party, and 53% of the Labour Party. Interestingly, voters of the populist right-wing Party of Freedom of Geert Wilders were divided: 37% were in favour of the idea, 46% were against it and 17% did not know.
In the Netherlands, people are beginning to recognize that a basic income, as an unconditional floor under the existing welfare state, could be very beneficial for us all by opening up new ways to end inequality, provide stability and freedom to choose. This is especially true for welfare claimants. In recent months, the labour union FNV (Dutch Federation of Trade Unions) organised two rounds of policy debates about basic income with more than 1000 welfare claimants, who are members of an affiliate union. Most of them were in favour of introducing a basic income, because it guarantees financial security, more freedom and less stress. Further, these beneficiaries call upon the FNV Congress 2017 to adopt a proposition stating that the implementation of a basic income will be an explicit trade union objective.
The appetite for such initiatives is also fuelled out of frustration with workfare programmes that turned out to be “hugely expensive and humiliating for those involved”, says Rutger Bregman, the author of Utopia for Realists: The Case for a Universal Basic Income.
Rutger Bregman CC Bond van Nederlandse Architecten (flickr)
Andy Stern, the former president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which represents nearly 2 million American workers, puts it like this in a conversation with Bourree Lam about his book Raising the Floor: “What I’m hoping for is that unions can look up from the defensive crouch they’re in, look into the future, and understand that so many of the things they’re doing now that are enormously important could be very insufficient. And that they’ll begin to think of universal basic income …”
In Christian circles one also hears people making a strong case for basic income. On the website of the Christian union for employees, employers and the self-employed (CGMV), a staff member reacts to the biblical directive that “He who does not work, shall not eat”. In an article with the title “Is everyone entitled to a basic income?”, referring to the many volunteers in organisations that have replaced paid workers, he asks: How then should we interpret another biblical text that says that “a labourer deserves his wages”? How can these volunteers get money to buy food? And how can we defend this attitude towards people who have tried to get a job so hard, but who did not succeed in finding one and who have to deal with rules that cripple their capabilities and creativity?
And there are more projects going on in the Netherlands that draw attention to basic income. A group of citizens has launched a big digital campaign to collect at least 40.000 signatures for the introduction of an unconditional basic income for every adult in 2018. The Parliament is legally obliged to discuss and vote on a topic, once it has been undersigned by more than 40.000 Dutch individuals. Right now (11-07-2016) the counter stands at 51.780 signatures. On to the 100.000! The more signatures, the stronger our voice! See https://basisinkomen2018.nl/.
In April an anchor woman of RTL-Z, an affiliate of the RTL Group (an European entertainment network) in the Netherlands, started the “Basic Income Bullshit Bingo Pot“: every time someone uses the words ‘basic income’ in a wrong way — that is, other than in the sense of an individual, universal, unconditional basic income that is high enough for a dignified life — he or she has to pay a Euro. The pot for the Euro donations can be found here: https://basisinkomen.eu/donatie-aan-vereniging-basisinkomen/.
In May, ‘Haagse Anne‘ (a young woman, artist and living in The Hague) received the second crowd funded basic income for a year. No strings attached! Liesbeth van Tongeren, Member of Parliament for the Green Party, handed her a symbolic plaque. The second publicly financed basic income is an initiative of MIES (Maatschappij voor Innovatie van Economie en Samenleving, a.k.a. Community for the Innovation of Economy and Society).
Another project of MIES, ‘OnsBasisinkomen’ (OurBasicIncome), can be found on this page. Readers are asked to tell what they would do if they were to receive a basic income tomorrow. So far, over 1800 Dutch people have told their story, of which 600 responses have been scientifically analysed. Two provisional findings emerged from the survey: people are not lazy and social participation is a multifaceted concept.
I cannot wait until the next report for this big news: Just a few days ago, the Financiële Dagblad (Financial Journal) announced that four municipalities will get the freedom to experiment with fewer regulations under the existing social welfare schemes. Some of the benefit claimants will be temporarily relieved of the duty to apply for jobs or to follow a reintegration program. Others may earn a bit without having their payment reduced from their benefits. The Secretary of State for Social Affairs and Employment, Jetta Klijnsma, has now agreed because the scientific assessment framework – a partnership between the four major cities and four collaborating universities – is now ready. If after the summer recess the Council of Ministers and the First and Second Chamber quickly agree, the cities of Utrecht, Tilburg, Groningen and Wageningen can start with the experiments in January 2017.
Authors: Florie Barnhoorn, Adriaan Planken
by Kate McFarland | Jun 30, 2016 | Opinion
Oxford Fellow Max Harris presents an argument that a universal basic income (UBI) could contribute to loneliness. The argument as given, however, seems to rest on misconceptions about what a UBI would and would not do, and even in its strongest form does not give us reason to reject a UBI.
Would a universal basic income exacerbate loneliness?
This is the question posed by Max Harris, an Examination Fellow at Oxford’s All Souls College, in a recent article for openDemocracy.
In Harris’s assessment, there are two ways in which a universal basic income might contribute to loneliness:
- A UBI “removes the social interaction that some people gain from employment.” Harris worries that recipients of the UBI would “curl up in individualist cocoons” rather than initiating social contact, since they have already been conditioned by the norms of a society in which interpersonal contact has become limited (“we email people who sit in the same office as us, for example, and often text people over talking to them in person”).
- A UBI by itself does not provide any “accompanying public infrastructure to underscore the value of community.” It is, of course, an investment directly in individuals — not in, say, community programs or public parks, libraries, or recreation centers.
Harris himself does not endorse the conclusion that, as a matter of fact, a UBI would make us lonely. Indeed, he does not take a firm stance on whether it would or not. His objective is merely to raise the concern.
As Harris points out, citing basic income proponents such as Scott Santens and the UK think tank Royal Society of Arts (RSA), one can also make a case that a UBI should be expected to foster social relationships. After all, if people are liberated from dependency on full-time paid employment, they would be able to spend less time in jobs that are themselves socially isolating — as some jobs surely are — and more time “pursuing communal projects” outside of work.
According to Harris, the question is in part empirical: we won’t know whether a UBI increases loneliness in society, or whether it reduces it, until it is actually tested.
A Non-Empirical Assessment
I want to offer a counterpoint to Harris’s loneliness worry that differs slightly from the brief pro-UBI response entertained in his essay.
It’s no doubt correct that some office work does inhibit individuals from engaging in community projects (a point that Harris attributes to Santens) — or, for that matter, prevent individuals from spending time with friends and family — but it’s a bit beside the point to argue about whether jobs facilitate valuable social interaction or whether, more often, they just get in the way. Presumably, there are jobs of each type. The key point here is that a UBI would provide options: with a UBI, a worker can choose to say at a job, or a worker can choose to quit (perhaps for the sake of engaging in some communal project).
Contra Harris, I believe that we don’t need an empirical study to demonstrate the flaws in the argument that “a universal basic income would make us lonely.” The argument, as he presents it, is a non-starter.
Look again at his two major concerns: (1) a UBI removes the social interaction gained at a job, and (2) a UBI offers no infrastructure to replace this lost interaction.
Credit: The Open University via flickr
The first of these premises is plainly false, and it doesn’t take a pilot study to see why: receiving a basic income does not prevent an individual from also continuing in paid employment. Thus, there is no sense in which a UBI “removes” the social interaction gained at a job; it does not even remove the job!
Indeed, one oft-touted benefit of basic income is that, because a UBI is not means-tested, it is not a disincentive to work (in contrast to most existing systems of welfare, in which benefits vanish if a receipt receives a job or earns income above a certain amount). Despite loose talk in the media about “paying people to do nothing” and “giving people money not to work,” receipt of a basic income is not conditional on quitting work (obviously); quite the contrary.
We might assume that people are able to recognize whether their jobs provide a valuable source of social interaction and connections — and that, if this is so, they will retain their jobs even if UBI came to be. (I will, though, revisit this assumption shortly.)
To be sure, UBI is often discussed in parallel to forecasts of mass unemployment (e.g., especially, due to automation). In the scenarios envisioned, many workers will lose their jobs — but, of course, this job-loss is not due to UBI. A UBI, insofar as it’s in the picture, is there to offset one of the worst effects of joblessness: loss of income. By itself, it is not meant — and should not be expected — to replace all aspects of the lost jobs. A UBI “merely” ensures that displaced workers won’t have to worry about paying for food or rent, thereby providing a foundation that allows us to focus on concerns at higher levels of Maslow’s hierarchy — such as how and where to find social interaction.
This leads to the second concern raised by Harris: a UBI does not provide alternative infrastructure for social interaction. Here, I think that we should accept Harris’s claim, but we should question its relevance.
It’s true that a UBI does not by itself provide schools, parks, or community programs; it also does not cure for cancer or end warfare. It would be patently absurd, however, to oppose UBI on the ground that it does not achieve the latter goals. A UBI might accomplish a lot, but it is not a panacea; no advocates take it for one.
Credit: Valerie Shane via flickr
We can even grant that the development and enrichment of the commons is a goal that we ought to pursue in conjunction with a basic income.
Guy Standing, for example, incorporates a call to protect and revive the “physical, social, and information commons” as part of his Precariat Charter (immediately after his proposals for basic income and sovereign wealth funds, as it happens).
And Harris himself describes the RSA’s idea for a “public contribution contract” to be introduced alongside of a basic income, by which individuals express commitment to contribute to their communities.
As an argument against basic income, Harris’s loneliness worry holds no water. At most, it is an exhortation to UBI proponents not to forget about parallel programs, such as the construction and enhancement of public spaces, that could foster social interaction and community well-being.
A Concession and Response
Credit: NoirKitsuné via flickr
I do, though, want to offer an important caveat. Above, I suggested that individuals can recognize when the social interaction fostered by a job is beneficial to them, and that they will act accordingly. But, in fact, I think it’s quite probable that there are some individuals who — were they to receive a basic income — would leave their jobs and cocoon themselves in their homes, even if doing so would not be in their overall best interest. A guaranteed income could indeed be the catalyst that drives some individuals into a voluntary, but potentially harmful, life of isolation.
What sorts of individuals? There might be some who would intentionally avoid social interaction as a consequence of mental illness, such as social anxiety or depression. Meanwhile, others might quit their jobs to pursue passions that just happen to be solitary (whether writing, painting, computer-programming, or what have you). After all, one major talking-point in favor of basic income — and one with which I wholeheartedly agree — is that the policy would allow individuals to quit their jobs to pursue their passions. The loneliness worry might well arise, however, when a naturally introverted person engages herself in an inherently solitary pursuit; even if avoiding social interaction is not her goal, it might be her natural inclination — an inclination that would be unthwarted if paid employment is not necessary to make a living.
Against Harris, perhaps, I believe that the loneliness worry would be greatest for those people who don’t avidly desire social interaction — for they are the least inclined to be proactive in ensuring that they receive a healthy dose. (Harris states, “While some individuals might enjoy this time on their own, others might feel isolated by this lack of social contact,” which suggests that he forecasts that those who crave social contact will be the hardest hit.)
Would this problem arise under a UBI? If so, how big of a problem would it be? These, I think, are indeed empirical matters.
But a better question for our purposes is this: if there is a risk of the type of self-induced loneliness that I’ve described above, would this be a reason not to favor a UBI?
And here I think that the we can, with some confidence, answer no.
Consider an analogy. Presumably, there are people in industrialized nations who currently receive very little physical activity, and who would receive more physical exercise were it not for the mechanization of labor. (Perhaps, say, they’d work in the field instead of sitting at a desk.) Such individuals could hit the gym after work, or ride a bike to the office instead of driving a car, or jog in the morning, or so on; however, because exercise is not required to make an income, many opt out, despite acknowledging that they’d be healthier if they moved around a bit more.
Nonetheless, it would be inappropriate to attempt to impede progress (e.g., by banning mechanized agriculture) simply because some percentage of the population is disinclined to exercise unless their life and livelihood depends on it. Such a reactionary policy would be not only unfair to society as a whole but also condescending and paternalistic to those it endeavors to help. A better approach might be to make other options for physical activity more accessible (e.g., say, installing bike lanes, funding parks and community recreation centers, or sponsoring free fitness classes).
Likewise, the possibility that a UBI would lead some to reduce their amount of social contact — even if this possibility is likely — is not a good reason to deprive society of the myriad benefits that would be bought about by a UBI. That said, there is likely little harm in preparing for this contingency by thinking of ways of encourage social contact in a world with less work (or, perhaps more accurately, less mandatory paid employment), such as by expanding and protecting commons areas.
Max Harris, “Will the Universal Basic Income make us lonely?” openDemocracy, May 25, 2016.
Feature Image via Chris de Nice (flickr)
Thanks to Dave Clegg for reviewing a draft of this article.
Thanks to my supporters on Patreon.
