Volume 11, Issue 2 -

Thirty years ago van der Veen and Van Parijs (1986) argued that a guaranteed Basic Income of sufficient generosity to decommodify labor could create a “capitalist road to communism.” Since then, interest in the idea of a guaranteed basic income has grown significantly, though relatively little thought has been given to the economic viability of such a scheme. Is a generous, “social justice” Basic Income affordable within the parameters of actually-existing capitalism? Through an analysis of national income, tax record, and census data for the United States for 2013 I show that economic redistribution that falls within the historical-institutional limits of U.S. capitalism would free up enough resources to pay for a social justice Basic Income, but only if we think of redistribution in macro-structural terms.

Universal Credit, the UK working-age benefit, attempts to address issues of complexity, inflexibility, and work disincentivisation within the benefits system. However, the UK coalition government’s delayed rollout and emphasis on conditionality raise questions over its applicability to twenty-first century labour market problems. Instead, universal basic income tackles similar goals and arguably better addresses labour market changes. But is this transition politically feasible? Through interviews with policy actors from four UK political parties, arguments for and against the likelihood of this transition are presented by utilising theories of welfare state development.

The following article will briefly compare and contrast the Social Credit proposal of a National Dividend, which was one of the three key planks in C.H. Douglas’ monetary reform proposals, with the contemporary call for the introduction of a basic income. In some ways, the National Dividend and the basic income (as typically conceived) are quite similar. One of the basic purposes of each is to eliminate or at least reduce poverty by providing each citizen with a secure income that is independent of employment. However, when it comes to the structural nature of the proposed benefit, its relationship to the existing social structure, and, finally, the methods that have been proposed for financing it, there are significant differences between the National Dividend and a conventional basic income that must not be overlooked.