A Basic Income is a periodic cash payment unconditionally delivered to all on an individual basis, without means-test or work requirement.
The Royal Society of Arts Explains: [2 minutes]
BIEN Congresses
The 24th BIEN CONGRESS in Maricá & Niterói – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 27-29 August 2025
Linkedin, Instagram, X – biencongress25 (at) gmail [dot] com
BIEN2024 was August 29–31 (Pictures and more coming soon)
Recent News, Opinion, and Research
Christopher Blattman and Paul Niehaus, “Show Them the Money: Why Giving Cash Helps Alleviate Poverty.”
SUMMARY: This article does not directly mention basic income, but the arguments within it for moving in that direction are clear. The authors argue, “Cash grants to the poor are as good as many traditional forms of aid when it comes to reducing poverty. … Fears that...
Hannah Fearn, “How about a 'citizen's income' instead of benefits?”
AUTHOR'S SUMMARY: We should look again at our welfare system and consider the idea of a citizen's or basic income - a minimum survival payment granted to everyone - in place of means-tested benefits Hannah Fearn, “How about a 'citizen's income' instead of benefits?”...
BIEN Congress speaker profile: Roberto Gargarella
[Jason Burke Murphy] Speaking at the BIEN congress will be Roberto Gargarella. He is Professor of Constitutional Theory and Political Philosophy at the Universidad de Buenos Aires. He will shortly take up a post as Leverhulme Trust Visiting Fellow at the Institute of...
Thomas Cool, “The pure evil of a Basic Income.”
SUMMARY: This article argues that Basic Income proponents claim to advance the cause for the disadvantaged, but in fact they block strategies that would really help the one billion most disadvantaged people on the planet, concluding, “Do we see pure evil here or not?”...
Jon Perry, “Implementing a Basic Income via a Digital Currency.”
Jon Perry, “Implementing a Basic Income via a Digital Currency.” The Decline of Scarcity, March 24, 2014.
David Jenkins, “Citizen Income: Potential Ways Forward.”
SUMMARY: This article reports about a “People’s Parliament” debate on basic income, which took place in London on March 4th. The event, chaired by Labour MP John McDonnell, is part of a wider series of events that form part of a People’s Parliament designed to...
James Robertson, James Robertson Newsletter
In an editorial in this newsletter, Robertson argues, “Replacing much of the existing benefits system with a citizen's basic income will support this shift in the nature of work.” James Robertson, James Robertson Newsletter No. 46 - April 2014
INTERNATIONAL: May Day Social Media Action to Promote Basic Income, 1 May 2014
[Scott Santens] On 1 May 2014 at 1200 Eastern Time (GMT-05:00) people across the world together plan to post to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and TikTok hundreds of messages simultaneously in support of basic income in celebration of May Day and International Workers'...
CANADA: Basic income supporter appointed as Minister in Quebec
A general election was held in Québec (Canada) on April 7th, 2014. The Parti Libéral du Québec (PLQ), under the lead of Philippe Couillard, won the elections, and now has 70 seats at the National Assembly - enough to form a majority government. On April 23rd, 2014,...
BELGIUM: Pirate Party endorses basic income
Following the lead of Pirate Parties in other countries, the Belgian Pirate Party has endorsed a basic income of 1,500 Euros per month. Pirate parties support civil rights, direct democracy, and participation in government. Their name derives from their support of the...
Najma Sadeque, “Profits to every citizen.”
SUMMARY: Najma Sadeque argues that Pakistan should introduce a dividend based on the Alaska model. Sadeque is a former journalist and currently director of The Green Economic Initiative at Shirkat Gah, a rights and advocacy group. Najma Sadeque, “Profits to every...
INTERNATIONAL: Live Reddit Q&A with Guy Standing, 5 May 2014
[Scott Santens] Professor Guy Standing, co-founder of the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) and author of several books, including The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class (2011) will be doing an AMA on Reddit on 5 May 2014 at 1100 EST. AMA stands for "Ask Me Anything"...