Tesco
Basic Income
Article

Basic Income

A simple and powerful idea for the twenty-first century

Philippe Van Parijs
Université catholique de Louvain, 2005
Read the article

Read or listen offline

auto-generated audio
  • 0.5×
  • 0.75×
  • 1×
  • 1.25×
  • 1.5×
  • 1.75×
1×
auto-generated audio

Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Eye Opening
  • Background
  • For Experts

Recommendation

Philosophy professor Philippe Van Parijs, one of Europe’s most prominent advocates for a “basic income” model, explains that the concept is a surprisingly “simple” yet “powerful” social benefit that political communities can finance with a sensible taxation system. He lays out his case in a clearly-written, scholarly annotated paper, which getAbstract recommends to policy makers and political activists willing to entertain an unconventional yet surprisingly straightforward approach to social justice. 

Take-Aways

  • The idea of providing all citizens with a “basic income” has gained increased public attention and political support in recent years.
  • Basic income is a modest, monthly cash payment handed out to every individual member of a political community irrespective of his or her age, income, wealth, employment status and living arrangement.
  • Basic income allows the poor to seek out employment without having to fear a cutback of their welfare benefits. Furthermore, the poor are free to take on jobs that are low-paying but meaningful to them.

About the Author

Philippe Van Parijs is the Hoover Chair of Economic and Social Ethics at the Université catholique de Louvain.

Comment on this summary or Start Discussion