Citizens for Public Justice presents an “infographic” (an illustrated poster) comparing Canada’s current welfare system to a Guaranteed Livable Income (a form of BIG). The image is reproduced below.
Citizens for Public Justice, “Infographic: Guaranteed Livable Income in Canada,” Citizens for Public Justice, December 2013.
The Case for a Guaranteed Income
ABSTRACT: Since the launch of the referendum on an Unconditional basic income (UBI) in April 2012 a lively debate is being held on the possibility of a society with UBI. The proposal to introduce a basic in- come without means-testing receives strong support as well as strong opposition. How can this be explained? Recently, a study run by a master student at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland and a research group based at ETH Zurich tried to answer this question. The results of the online survey show that there is a link between an individual’s position towards the UBI on the one hand, and his/her understanding of justice and his/her personal life goals on the other hand. Supporters of the UBI consider equality in society important, whereas non-supporters of the UBI tolerate inequalities between individuals if they are based on personal achievement. With regard to life goals, supporters rate community and personal growth as more important than non-supporters who rate wealth and image as more important. However, both supporters and non-supporters report intact social relationships and personal growth as their most important life goals.
In German with summaries in English, French and Italian.
Ketterer, H., Bossard, E., Neufeind, M., Wehner, T. “Gerechtigkeitseinstellungen und Positionen zum Bedingungslosen Grundeinkommen. [For and against the unconditional basic income: a matter of differences in justice attitudes and life goals?]” Zürcher Beiträge zur Psychologie der Arbeit Zürcher. Issue 2, 2013
[Robin Ketelaars – Vereniging Basisinkomen]
Just before the election of the 18th German Bundestag a BIG demo will take place. The demonstration will be held on the 14th of September 2013 starting at 13:00 in Berlin at the Neptunbrunnen.
Unconditional basic income: liberty meets justice
The demonstration is titled: “Unconditional Basic Income – Liberty meets Justice” and is organized by the German network for Basic Income (Netzwerk Grundeinkommen) in coöperation with the European Citizens Initiative for Basic Income (ECI-UBI). So this event is not only a German event.
The participants will start at Neptunbrunnen and will walk towards the Swiss embassy. Switserland is not a part of the EU, but also fighting for a BI [1]. In front of the Swiss embassy most of the representatives of the ECI-UBI from all the participating countries will make a 30-second statement about BI.
In the evening a book launch and book reading will take place in the House of Democracy and Human Rights. There guests from all over Europe can meet and greet.
More info (in German): https://grundeinkommen-ist-ein-menschenrecht.blogspot.de
[1] A Swiss petition drive has collected more than the 100,000 signatures necessary to trigger a referendum on introducing Basic Income in Switzerland. https://binews.org/2013/08/switzerland-initiative-claims-enough-signatures-to-trigger-a-referendum-on-big/
This book, released in 2011, is now available for free as a computer-generated audio book in MP3 format. (It is also available for download as PDF, see story from BI News, May 19, 2013). The hard copy is still available for €29.90. Philippe Van Parijs is one of the leading philosophers writing about basic income today. Many of the chapters in this book respond to his ideas about basic income.
The audio version of the book is not read by a human being. It is created by read-out-loud software in a computer-generated voice. But it provides an accessible version of the text ready for downloading from the internet and uploading onto an iPod or any other portable audio player.
According to Noble Laureate, Amartya Sen, “A book of quick and sharp thoughts on a grand theme is a novel way of paying tribute to a leading philosopher. But it has worked beautifully here, both as a stimulating book of ideas on justice, and as a fitting recognition of the intellectual contributions of Philippe Van Parijs, who is one of the most original and most creative thinkers of our time. ”
Gosseries, Axel and Yannick Vanderborght (editors), Arguing about justice: Essays for Philippe Van Parijs. Louvain-la-Neuve: UCL Presses, 2011
The audio (MP3) version is available at: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/z54m0lhjyd9y636/zgW4qS9Ssc/A.B.%20Axel%20Gosseries%20%26%20Yannick%20Vanderborght%20%28editors%29
The PDF version is available at: https://www.academia.edu/2396206/Arguing_about_Justice_Essays_for_Philippe_Van_Parijs_PUL_2011_free_PDF_
For more info about the book go to: https://www.i6doc.com/fr/livre/?GCOI=28001100609230
Arguing re: Justice
This book, released in 2011, is now available for free download as PDF. The hard copy is still available for €29.90. Philippe Van Parijs is one of the leading philosophers writing about basic income today. Many of the chapters in this book respond to his ideas about basic income. According to the publisher, “This book brings together fifty of today’s finest thinkers. They were asked to let their imaginations run free to advance new ideas on a wide range of social and political issues. They did so as friends, on the occasion of Philippe Van Parijs’s sixtieth birthday. Rather than restricting themselves to comments on his numerous writings, the authors engage with the topics on which he has focused his attention over the years, especially with the various dimensions of justice, its scope, and its demands. They discuss issues ranging from the fair distribution of marriage opportunities to the limits of argumentation in a democracy, the deep roots of inequality, the challenges to basic income and the requirements of linguistic justice. They provide ample food for thought for both academic and general readers.”
According to Noble Laureate, Amartya Sen, “A book of quick and sharp thoughts on a grand theme is a novel way of paying tribute to a leading philosopher. But it has worked beautifully here, both as a stimulating book of ideas on justice, and as a fitting recognition of the intellectual contributions of Philippe Van Parijs, who is one of the most original and most creative thinkers of our time. ”
Gosseries, Axel and Yannick Vanderborght (editors), Arguing about justice: Essays for Philippe Van Parijs. Louvain-la-Neuve: UCL Presses, 2011
For a link to the PDF go to: https://www.academia.edu/2396206/Arguing_about_Justice_Essays_for_Philippe_Van_Parijs_PUL_2011_free_PDF_
For more info about the book, in hardcopy and PDF, go to: https://www.i6doc.com/fr/livre/?GCOI=28001100609230
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)