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
Citizen’s Income Trust Citizen’s Income News Letter
The Citizen’s Income Trust (BIEN’s affiliate in the United Kingdom) has released the third issue of the 2013 volume of the Citizen’s Income Newsletter. It contains editorials, news, and nine book reviews. Citizen’s Income Trust Citizen’s Income News Letter 2013, issue...
EUROPEAN UNION: Slovenia becomes second country to reach the target signatures for the Basic Income European Citizens Initiative
[Craig Axford] On October 24th, Slovenia joined Croatia to become the second EU nation reaching the required number of signatures on the Basic Income Initiative in Europe. If the initiative receives one million signatures and receives the required level of support in...
Georgette Jasen, “Research Finds Outright Grants of Cash Are Surprisingly Effective Form of Aid to the Poor”
[Craig Axford] Researcher Christopher Blattman investigated the impacts of a Ugandan grant program financed through a loan from the World Bank and discovered it paid huge dividends both for the grant recipients and the communities they belonged to. Though the grants...
EUROPEAN UNION: Citizens’ Initiative for Basic Income can be signed online
[Aynur Bashirova] European citizens’ initiative petition on basic income was launched earlier this year. Basic income initiative believes in distributing minimum income to all the citizens without conditionality and regardless of the employment. The petition can be...
VIDEO: The Swiss Activist Who Collected 100,000 Signatures to Provide Every Adult Citizen with $2,800/Month
[Steve Shafarman - USBIG] This video, an exclusive interview is cofounder of the Basic Income Initiative, Enno Schmidt, includes references to Milton Friedman, Alaska, Namibia, and more. Enno is an artist and author of the film Basic Income: A Cultural Impulse. The...
AUDIO: Van Parijs on the Swiss radio
On October 2, 2013, the French-speaking Swiss radio network RTS devoted a one-hour programme to basic income. The broadcast included an interview with Philippe Van Parijs (Louvain University), as well as with philosopher Serge Margel (Lausanne University), Julien...
Arthur de Grave & Benjamin Tincq, “Can debt catalyse the next global rebellion? An interview with David Graeber"
[Craig Axford] In this wide-ranging interview with the anthropologist David Graeber, ideas such as a debt jubilee and basic income guarantee are discussed. According to Graeber, a basic income would allow people to “find a valuable occupation” of their own choosing...
Kevin Zeese & Margaret Flowers, “Time for an Economy of, by and for the People”
[Craig Axford] An overview of current economic policy and a number of alternative directions we might follow are discussed here, including a shorter work-week at current wage levels, an increase in the minimum wage to reflect increases in productivity, and a basic...
Podcast on Basic Income #3 (13/10/28)
An audio podcast on the lastest news of last week.
Guy Standing to give several presentations on basic income in Italy, Norway, Finland, and the United Kingdom, 2-13 November 2013
Guy Standing, honorary co-president of BIEN and Professor of Development Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, will be taking part in a debate on basic income at the Salone dell’Editoria Sociale book fair in Rome. The...
Tom Streithorst, “Basic Income and the Atavistic Appeal of Austerity”
[Craig Axford] According to this article, fear of inflation and creditors’ desire to be paid back in a strong currency has fuelled the austerity argument. However, growing productivity and increasing numbers of debtors is driving down demand. Tom Streithorst argues...
Matt Bruenig, “How a Universal Basic Income Would Affect Poverty”
[Craig Axford] This short blog post provides an overview of the basic income guarantee idea along with an easy to use calculator that enables visitors to calculate the cost of providing everyone in the United States with a basic income. By experimenting with the...