by Kate McFarland | Oct 31, 2016 | News
The American magazine The Atlantic hosted its first Future of Work Summit on October 26 in Chicago, Illinois.
This day-long conference included sessions on automation and technological unemployment (e.g. “Are Robots Taking Our Jobs?” with McKinsey Institute Partner Michael Chui); the rise of the sharing and gig economies (e.g. “The Sharing Economy” with Freelancers Union’s Sara Horowitz, Lyft’s Joseph Okpaku, and New York University Professor Arun Sundararajan); and the nature and importance of work (e.g. “Do We Need Work to Be Happy?” with Emeritus Professor of Psychology Barry Schwartz)–among others.
While many of the topics explored at the Future of Work Summit are relevant to the current movement for basic income, it is particularly noteworthy that one session was specifically focused on the topic: Atlantic editor Steve Clemons interviewed prominent BI advocate Scott Santens about his personal experience crowdfunding his own basic income, as well as the potential for a basic income in the United States.
A video of the entire Future of Work Summit is also available:
Read more about the conference here:
https://www.theatlantic.com/live/events/future-of-work-summit/2016/
N.B. Around 9:03, Clemons asks Santens if he has pressure-tested the idea of basic income against someone “dark and cynical and skeptical of good things”. The author would like to submit herself as someone who considers herself such a person but who nonetheless supports basic income as a utopian ideal, and who was influenced by Santens’ work. She is reported to have reacted to the question by pounding the desk and declaring, “Cynicism and utopianism are not inconsistent!”
by Kate McFarland | Jul 26, 2016 | News
On Wednesday, July 27, basic income advocate Scott Santens is to speak on basic income at a Rock the Vote event held in conjunction with the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where delegates are presently convening to nominate the party’s candidate for President of the United States.
The following is an abstract of Santens’ talk, which is scheduled for 10:25-10:40am EST:
A basic income is an income unconditionally granted to all on an individual basis, without means test or work requirement. It would be paid to individuals rather than households; paid irrespective of any income from other sources; and, paid without requiring the performance of any work or the willingness to accept a job if offered. Social policy and economic policy can no longer be conceived separately, and basic income is increasingly viewed as the only viable way of reconciling two of their respective central objectives: poverty relief and full employment.
This event was organized by the World Technology Network (WTN), under the auspices of Rock the Vote, after the DNC cancelled initial plans for a universal basic income panel at the convention.
Santens’ talk on basic income is one of five technology-related sessions convened by the WTN for Tuesday and Wednesday as part of Rock the Vote’s Truth to Power campaign, designed to engage and mobilize young people for political action in the 2016 election.
Tuesday’s sessions include a panel on technological unemployment (with Richard Eskow, Kevin LaGrandeur, Jonathan Lyons, and James Clark, and moderator James Hughes) and a panel discussion of the startup market and entrepreneurism, featuring members of the non-profit organization Innovation for Jobs.
On Wednesday, Santens’ presentation will be immediately preceded by a 25-minute talk on blockchain currencies by Northwest Passage Ventures CEO Alex Tapscott, and immediately followed by a 20-minute panel on the failure of the War on Poverty and how to address it (featuring Catherine Beane, Eric Tars, and moderator Joy Moses).
For more information about the event, see the following pages:
– Democratic Convention “Rock the Vote” Tech Series hosted by the World Technology Network (Facebook Event Page).
– Rock the Vote presents Truth to Power: Daytime Activations.
Image Credit Kristin Brenemen
by Kate McFarland | Jun 23, 2016 | News
The May 25th edition of Positive.News featured an “opposing viewpoints” style exchange on basic income. The debate was unusual, however, in that it pitted two enthusiastic proponents of the idea — Anthony Painter of the UK think tank RSA (Royal Society of Arts) and independent activist Scott Santens — against one another.
Santens and Painter present summaries of the variations of a universal basic income that they respectively favor, as well as their reasons for advocating these particular policies. Each then has the opportunity to respond to the other.
Although brief, the exchange illustrates that the basic income movement is not monolithic: a variety of policies, aimed at achieving a multitude of different goals, fall under the heading of “basic income”; moreover, even when advocates agree about the desired outcome, they may disagree about the best means to pursue it.
For instance, while Santens sees the ability to free people from work as prime benefit of basic income (“If we provide ourselves basic income, we’ll be free to pursue what we wish, and who are we to say which pursuits are valuable?”), Painter and the RSA propose a basic income that “does not free people from work but … gives them a fighting chance to improve their lives.” (Basic Income News has previously reported on the RSA’s proposal.)
Furthermore, while Santens focuses on ideal outcomes, Painter puts forth a more limited proposal that he considers “not perfect but a start” (a partial basic income of £3,692 annually).
On the latter point, Painter sees not disagreement but two necessary facets to the basic income movement: “If we are to see a wave of justice in this generation, which I believe is possible, then principle and pragmatism need to be in harmony.”
Santens, in reply, stresses that a basic income must be a livable income if individuals and society are to realize one of its “most transformative promise” — the “unprecedented ability of people to be able to say no to employers.”
Read the article here:
“Free money: would a basic income create a fairer society,” Positive.News, May 25, 2016.
by Kate McFarland | Jun 2, 2016 | News
The London-based New Work Order is a group for self-directed individuals building careers outside of the mainstream. In its own words, NWO is “a close-knit network of ambitious and proactive people who are building careers on our own terms.”
The NWO founders describe their journey as follows:
Our journey took us from Switzerland to London, where we met with hundreds of ambitious but frustrated people who felt trapped in a world of work where they didn’t belong.
They longed to be in control of their own destiny, to make an impact on the world in their own unique way and to experience life to the fullest, beyond the confines of a job that offered little meaning, fulfilment or freedom.
We were consistently inspired by the boldness and commitment that these people showed towards transforming their lives by doing work that mattered to them. But we also witnessed their struggles. …
NWO exists primarily to provide a support network for such individuals.
Around here, of course, many of us would say that a universal basic income is what we really need to empower all people to transform their lives through meaningful work — and thus immensely benefit members of a group like NWO.
This is why it’s fortunate that the New Work Order’s podcast recently broadcast an episode dedicated to basic income, featuring guest Scott Santens.
During the 35 minute interview, Santens describes what a basic income is, where the idea came from, how it would work in practice, and why it is necessary in our present societies. He also talks about what its like to live with a basic income, having achieved his own crowdfunded basic income in December 2015.
Stock picture of people working in coffee shop from Pexels.
by Kate McFarland | Apr 26, 2016 | News
Prominent basic income advocate Scott Santens, along with Mic tech reporter Jack Smith IV (who has written in support of basic income as a response to automation), will be presenting at Collision 2016, held in New Orleans from April 26-28.
Collision, developed by the creators of Web Summit, has been described as “America’s fastest growing tech conference.” As the conference website states, “In two years, Collision has grown to over 7,500 attendees from more than 50 countries. Attendees include CEOs of both the world’s fastest growing startups and the world’s largest companies, alongside leading investors and media.”
Santens and Smith will be “discussing the pros and cons in the basic income debate” on Wednesday, April 27, at 1:30pm Central Time. (See the event description here.)
The conference will be streamed live on the official website.
Be sure to tune in on Wednesday when basic income takes the stage at this major, multi-national event!
POSTSCRIPT: If you missed viewing the event live, you can also watch a recording of Santens’ interview at Collision on YouTube.
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