Dutch Elections 2012 – No entrance to Basic Income

by | Sep 29, 2012 | News

The general elections of September 12, 2012 in the Netherlands were characterized by many debates in the media: radio, television, magazines and newspapers. The elections resulted in 21,176 votes for an Unconditional Basic Income (UBI – OBI in Dutch) – on parties that didn’t get any seats in parliament.

Reporting in the election paid little attention to UBI as an issue. Stories and interviews focused on the party leaders of the major parties and some of the smaller parties in the parliament. A few new parties that seek more substantial innovations, such as direct democracy, digital civil rights and an unconditional basic income were sparsely covered. Of course, every political party did the free 6 x 3 minutes airtime on public broadcasting, but that was it. The polls taken in advance of the elections only concerned the established parties. The newcomers received no attention.

Maastricht (Netherlands), 17 April 2012: Basic Income as a sustainable solution for our planet

by | Mar 30, 2012 | News

This event will take place within the framework of the “Science Cafe”, a platform for panel discussions taking place at the Selxys bookstore in Maastricht. It provides a link between students, scholars, the academic world and the reality of people’s life.

In the 2 hour evening discussion, the audience will be invited to ask questions and to interact with the panelists. Five guests are going to discuss Basic Income in its sustainable dimension – as a solution to the to the problems our world is facing due to the unsustainable governance in the environmental as well as the social realm.

Guest speakers include:

Felix Coeln, chaiperson of Kölner Initiative Grundeinkommen (Köln, Germany), who shall look at the core philosophical idea of of separating income from working for a livelihood.

The German activist Bernd Hildebrandt, who will approaching the topic with from the bottom-up perspective, following the idea of “empowering” the least well off in society.

The Italian philosopher Emanuele Murra (currently at the Hoover Chair, Louvain university) will look at the link existing between material conditions and freedom, claiming that some economical right has to be considered as fundamental right.

Adrian de Grootruiz, an economics professor from Nijmegen, will incorporate the economic dimension in the debate.

Rene Gabriels, a Dutch philosopher, will have a critical look at the idea.

The event will take place on Tuesday 17 April, 20h00 at the Selexyz Bookshop, Dominikanerkerkstraat 1, Maastricht.

For further information:
https://www.sg.unimaas.nl/programma.asp?action=detail&id=777&lang=en