by Andre Coelho | May 1, 2016 | Opinion
Jobs in security are on the verge of obsolescence. Security jobs usually refer to night watchers, guards, soldiers, intelligence officers, police officers and so on. Armies, police, security companies and related industries employ millions of people worldwide, wielding vast amounts of power and influence on society and the natural world. However, and in spite of that, they are doomed. Why? Because people want to be happy and, on the verge of global societal breakdown, are beginning to understand that their happiness is linked to everyone else’s and that this positive state of being is so much better than the ever present fear, uncertainty and isolation. Happy people tend to be fraternal, cooperative and empathetic (and their happiness reinforced by these behaviors), which in the long term means there will be no need for “security” jobs, as we know them today. Much of the violence, war and conflict in the world today stems from the pure need for maintaining these “security” structures, which are ridden with a mentality of war, mistrust and distorted notions of what security means for most people.
But what is a security-specialized mega-entity, which employs dozens of thousands of people (for example the US Army), to do when people seem oblivious of their past importance and meaning and simply do not value them as much (if at all)? It tries to survive. And that may mean resorting to unconventional, radical approaches, such as covertly instigating conflict or actively promoting or supporting entities or actions which lead to scarcity, inequality and fear among people (which are powerful instigators of conflict and violence). That is their mantra as survival strategy goes. But guess what? The worldwide arrival of the basic income is imminent.
Not a novelty in itself, the basic income is arriving now with a renewed strength, strongly linked to values of peace, equality and freedom. Freedom to pursue happiness, to have a share of what should be shared resources, to connect more deeply with other fellow human beings and the natural world. The basic income, besides helping to liberate millions of people from directly and indirectly imposed slavery, also gives a bright opportunity for those strapped to the “security” business to abandon it, now that their hearts are no longer aligned with its associated roles. With less critical mass, fewer incentives and fewer individuals with a war-prone mentality , security entities will crumble.
Now I am not saying many innocent people who are employed by these entities deserve to be miserable – the idea is to protect them from collapse by systems such as the basic income and allow them to finally start doing what they really believe in with their lives. However, only dramatic transformations in our society (which stem from changes at the personal level) will eliminate security entities as we know them. Jobs in security are about to end and that is – given new and refreshed social approaches like the basic income – great news.
by Karl Widerquist | Apr 29, 2016 | News
On Saturday April 30 the globally first robot protest march will take place in Zurich, the financial capital of Switzerland. With more than 100 robots dancing in the streets and hundreds of supporters, the event is a major call for an Unconditional Basic Income.
On 5th June 2016, Switzerland will become the first country worldwide to hold a national referendum on the introduction of an Unconditional Basic Income (UBI).
According to the organizers, the message of the protesting robots is “We want to work for the humans. But we do not want to bring them into existential difficulties by taking over their jobs. The main challenge of the 4th industrial revolution is that humans receive a secure income.”
According to the organizers, the main idea of an UBI is to secure the basic needs of human life unconditionally. It stresses the topic of human self-determined freedom.
Meeting: 2 pm, Werdmühlplatz 14, Zurich
Protest start: 2:30 pm
Route: Werdmühleplatz – Bahnhofstrasse – Bürkliplatz (officially confirmed by police)
More info:
Che Wagner, Spokesperson Referendum for Unconditional Basic Income in Switzerland, Mobile: +41 76 230 75 29,
Email: che@grundeinkommen.ch
www.basicincome2016.org
www.grundeinkommen.ch
Robots for Basic Income
by Kate McFarland | Apr 28, 2016 | Research
On June 5th, the people of Switzerland will go to the polls to vote on a referendum to enact a basic income — marking the first time that a basic income has been submitted to the popular vote. Although the basic income initiative received little support in Parliament, about 40% of Swiss citizens support the referendum, according to a recent survey.
A new book, Voting for Freedom by Daniel Häni and Philip Kovce, lays out the arguments for a basic income in Switzerland, and explains why the referendum is a “milestone in the advancement of democracy.”
As the book’s press release describes the basic income initiative, “The proposal creates new alliances and causes old ones to fall apart. The reason: Unconditional basic income asks the right questions.”
Daniel Häni was one of the instigators of the popular initiative for a basic income; he is also CEO and co-founder of unternehmen mitte, Switzerland’s largest coffee house. Philip Kovce is a freelance writer and a researcher that the Basler Philosophicum and Witten Institute of Economics and Philosophy, as well as a member of Think Tank 30.
Prominent venture capitalist Albert Wenger (partner of Union Square Ventures) writes the forward.
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by Joe Timothy | Apr 24, 2016 | News
There are numerous different arguments for the adoption of a basic income. To eradicate poverty, counteract the inevitability of job automation or to allow people the freedom to choose. However, Mark Walker argues that we hear so much about what he terms “leftist” reasons and not so much about the justifications for a basic income for those who sit on the right of the political spectrum. In this blog post, Walker, an Associate Professor of Philosophy at New Mexico State University, outlines why he believes capitalism itself demands a basic income.
Walker sets out his vision of the future of the United States in which people are charged a surcharge for all goods and services that they use much like companies such as Amazon or Ebay do. This extra payment will go into one pot and shared amongst shareholders. Now this sounds like another way of shifting money to a few lucky shareholders however Walker then goes on to suggest those shareholders are the public themselves; “Perhaps the answer is obvious; the shareholders are “we the people”. This vision of public ownership using capitalist principles would allow the public to receive a dividend in the form of a basic income.
Later in the article Walker argues that the market as it is “benefits the rich and hurts the middle class and the poor. Or put the other way around, the poor and the middle class would be better off if we ran public assets on good capitalistic principles”. It is this adoption of a capitalist outlook in public life that Walker believes will lead to the inevitable outcome of a basic income for all.
Mark Walker is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at New Mexico State University, as well as a member of the board of directors of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies and the editorial board of the Journal of Evolution and Technology. His latest book is Free Money For All: A Basic Income Guarantee Solution for the Twenty-First Century (2015, Palgrave)
Mark Walker, “Capitalism Mandates a Basic Income Guarantee”, April 6th 2016
by Stanislas Jourdan | Apr 18, 2016 | News
Ahead of the national referendum taking place early in June, the Swiss city of Lausanne has adopted a motion to test a basic income and assess the effects of the policy.
Will Lausanne be the first city in Switzerland to test a basic income? It is possible. Last Tuesday, April 12th, the City Council took an important first step, when it adopted a motion (pdf) aimed at running a basic income experiment. This non legally-binding motion – which asks the Executive Council of the Municipality to implement a pilot – passed by a close margin (39 votes in favor versus 37 against, with 8 abstentions).
The motion has received significant support from the Green Party. It was originally tabled by Green Party member Laurent Rebeaud, who passed away in December. Léonore Porchet, President of the Lausanne Green Party, says, “Basic income offers a solid and securing social floor, as opposed to the fragile social safety net that we know today. The freedom provided by basic income encourages activity, social inclusion and innovation. In addition it values and support the ‘free’ work such as volunteer activities.”
Recent polls conducted in Switzerland bolster Porchet’s contention that a basic income would “encourage activity” rather than subsidize laziness, as some detractors fear. These polls conclude that only 2% of Swiss people would stop working if they had a basic income, while 22% would become entrepreneurs and 54% would take opportunities to improve their qualifications.
Although the Lausanne City Council’s motion remains vague about the specifics of the experiment, it proposes that it should be monitored in cooperation with the University of Lausanne, in a way similar to the basic income pilot planned for the Dutch city of Utrecht, which is being developed in collaboration with the University of Utrecht. Lausanne is a city of 130,000 inhabitants located in the French speaking region of Switzerland. However, the experiment would include only a sample of the population.
To run the experiment, the city will need financial support from the Canton and the Confederation. However, this is likely to be feasible, as it should not incur more costs than the existing budget for social benefits.
The Lausanne experiment’s main goal would be to assess how work incentives change depending on the conditions for receiving social benefits, as Porchet explains on the website of the local section of the Green Party.
Picture CC Alice
