by BIEN Ireland | Jun 27, 2012 | News
Social Justice Ireland’s annual Public Policy Conference will be held in Croke Park Conference Centre on Tuesday, July 3, 2012 from 9.30am to 4.45pm and will address the issue of the future of the European Social Model. One of the main papers at this conference will be presented by one of the world’s best known advocates of Basic Income, Philippe Van Parijs. Philippe is a Belgian philosopher and political economist who has written extensively over the past quarter century on the need for a Basic Income system. At this conference he will address the topic: Basic Income in a Globalised Economy and will pay special attention to the Eurozone.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the publication of the Beveridge Report on which much of the European Social model was developed following World War II. The value and viability of this model has been questioned in recent years. Its viability has been under much scrutiny in the context of the current economic and social crisis. Many questions have been raised concerning how it can be financed with the current focus on fiscal tightening.
A range of speakers from Ireland and abroad, including Philippe, will address these questions at this conference and identify viable responses. The day will also include a ’round-table’ of leading politicians representing Government and Opposition who will set out their positions on these issues. There will be ample time for those attending to engage with the speakers.
Economic Challenges: Dr Ide Kearney, ESRI
Social Challenges: Professor Tony Fahey, UCD
Addressing Challenges on Income: Professor Philippe van Parijs, University of Louvain
Addressing Challenges on Services: Anna Coote, New Economics Foundation
Pathways for Ireland: Seán Healy, Brigid Reynolds, Michelle Murphy, Social Justice Ireland
Roundtable Discussion: The final part of the conference will be a roundtable discussion involving Government and Opposition T.D.’s.
Date: Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012
Venue: Croke Park Conference Centre, Dublin 1, Ireland
Conference: 9.30am – 4.45pm (Registration from 9.15am)
Conference Fee*: Members of Social Justice Ireland– €50; Non-members – €75
(Conference fee includes lunch, teas/coffees and a copy of the book containing the conference papers which will be published on day of conference.)
*Discounted rates available for students, those who are unemployed and OAPs – please contact us by email secretary@socialjustice.ie or by phone 01-2130724 for details.
Advance booking is essential. To book online please go to https://socialjustice.ie/content/social-policy-conference-2012-address-european-social-model
To book via post please complete and return the application form with fee to: Social Justice Ireland, Arena House, Arena Road, Sandyford, Dublin 18.
by Yannick Vanderborght | Apr 3, 2012 | Research
In this opinion piece published by the French daily Le Monde (March 6, 2012), Philippe Van Parijs (Louvain University, Hoover Chair) compares the eurozone with the United States. Inspired by the works of Martin Feldstein and others, he argues that the eurozone will only be viable at the price of increased interpersonal solidarity. This solidarity, Van Parijs argues, should take the form of a modest individual income floor funded by VAT, i.e. a so-called “Euro-Dividend”.
The piece (in French) is online at:
https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2012/03/06/pas-d-eurozone-viable-sans-euro-dividende_1652164_3232.html
A Dutch version has been published by the Belgian daily De Morgen: https://www.demorgen.be/dm/nl/2461/De-Gedachte/article/detail/1400934/2012/02/28/Geen-duurzame-euro-zonder-eurodividend.dhtml
by Yannick Vanderborght | Apr 3, 2012 | Research
The idea of guaranteeing every member of society an unconditional basic income is one the most innovative and powerful proposals for countering our growing economic inequalities and to sustainably prevent poverty. But would this be a just thing to do? In the last few decades, debates on the ethics and economics of basic income have become increasingly sophisticated and diverse. Basic Income Reconsidered provides an up-to-date assessment of these arguments, and works out a novel contribution based on the justification of unconditional universalism. Simon Birnbaum (Stockholm University, Sweden) studies the basic income proposal, and its main rivals, through the lens of John Rawls’ theory of justice and defends a radical-liberal interpretation of Rawls’ conception. It is radical in the sense that it demands far-reaching equalization of opportunities. It is, at the same time, liberal by insisting that people must be left free to use their resource shares for a much wider range of purposes and life plans than those typically accessible through existing welfare states.
According to Philippe Van Parijs, Birnbaum’s new book is “one of the most insightful and comprehensive treatments so far of the ethical foundations of radical welfare reform”.
Full references: BIRNBAUM, Simon (2012), Basic Income Reconsidered. Social Justice, Liberalism, and the Demands of Equality, New York: Palgrave Macmillan (“Exploring the basic income guarantee” series).
For further information, see the publisher’s page at: https://us.macmillan.com/basicincomereconsidered/SimonBirnbaum
by Yannick Vanderborght | Jan 19, 2012 | Research
BIRNBAUM, Simon (2011), ‘Should surfers be ostracized? Basic income, liberal neutrality, and the work ethos’…
Neutralists have argued that there is something illiberal about linking access to gift-like resources to work requirements. The central liberal motivation for basic income is to provide greater freedom to choose between different ways of life, including options attaching great importance to non-market activities and disposable time. As argued by Philippe Van Parijs, even those spending their days surfing should be fed. This article by Simon Birnbaum (Department of Political Science, Stockholm University) examines Van Parijs’ dual commitment to a ‘real libertarian’ justification of basic income and the public enforcement of a strong work ethos, which serves to boost the volume of work at a given rate of taxation. It is argued (contra Van Parijs) that this alliance faces the neutrality objection: the work ethos will largely offset the liberal gains of unconditionality by radically restricting the set of permissible options available. A relaxed, non-obligatory ethos might avoid this implication. This view, however, is vulnerable to the structural exploitation objection: feasibility is achieved only because some choose to do necessary tasks to which most people have the same aversion. In light of these objections, the article examines whether there is a morally untainted feasibility path consistent with liberal objectives.
Full references:
BIRNBAUM, Simon (2011), ‘Should surfers be ostracized? Basic income, liberal neutrality, and the work ethos’, Politics, Philosophy, Economics, November 2011, vol. 10, no. 4, 396-419. See: https://ppe.sagepub.com/content/10/4/396.abstract
