I forget where it was that I first came across the Basic Income, but it seemed obscure at the time. There was almost no debate about it in mainstream media outlets. The idea has a rich history and it clearly had supporters, but the organisations campaigning for it had websites that looked niche and out of date. It has been intriguing to watch its rise since. Driven by the financial crisis, the ongoing frustrations of the welfare system, and the success of direct cash transfers in developing countries, the Basic Income is back.
“The legitimacy of basic income as an idea may thus be greater than at any time in the past” says Guy Standing in this timely book, Basic Income: And how we can make it happen.
What is a Basic Income? It’s “a modest amount of money paid unconditionally to individuals on a regular basis”. There are
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