Universal Basic Income

by Karl Widerquist

An accessible introduction to the simple (yet radical) premise that a small cash income, sufficient for basic needs, ought to be provided regularly and unconditionally to every citizen.

The growing movement for universal basic income (UBI) has been gaining attention from politics and the media with the audacious idea of a regular, unconditional cash grant for everyone as a right of citizenship. This volume in the Essential Knowledge series presents the first short, solid UBI introduction that is neither academic nor polemic. It takes a position in favor of UBI, but its primary goal remains the provision of essential knowledge by answering the fundamental questions about What is UBI? How does it work? What are the arguments for and against it? What is the evidence?

Karl Widerquist discusses how UBI functions, showing how it differs from other redistributional approaches. He summarizes the common arguments for and against UBI and presents the reasons for believing it is a tremendously important reform. The book briefly discusses the likely cost of UBI; options for paying for it; the existing evidence on the probable effects of UBI; and the history of UBI from its inception more than two hundred years ago through the two waves of support it received in the twentieth century to the third and largest wave of support it is experiencing now. Now more than ever, conditions in much of the world are ripe for such enthusiasm to keep growing, and there are good reasons to believe that this current wave of support will eventually lead to the adoption of UBI in several countries around the world—making this volume an especially timely and necessary read.

Genres: Economics, Nonfiction, Politics

272 pages, Paperback

Published February 20, 2024

About the author

Karl Widerquist is a Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University-Qatar. He specializes in distributive justice: the ethics of who has what. He is an interdisciplinary scholar who holds two doctorates, one in Normative Political Theory (Oxford University 2006) and one in Economics (the City University of New York 1996). His writing and research cross the disciplines of philosophy, politics, economics, anthropology, and the philosophy of social science. He has published dozens of scholarly articles and eleven books including Universal Basic Income: Essential Knowledge, the Problem of Property, the Prehistory of Private Property, A Critical Analysis of Basic Income Experiments; Prehistoric Myths in Modern Political Philosophy; and Independence, Propertylessness, and Basic Income: A Theory of Freedom as the Power to Say No. Much of his writing is about Universal Basic Income. He was a founding editor of the journal Basic Income Studies, cofounder of the U.S. Basic Income Guarantee Network, and cochair of the Basic Income Earth Network. The Atlantic Monthly called him “a leader of the worldwide Basic Income movement.”
Website: www.widerquist.com
Twitter: @KarlWiderquist
Email: Karl@widerquist.com

Reviews

[Dillon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good introduction into the topic of universal basic income. A genuinely worthwhile thing to research and implement that could have massive benefits, but would require tax increases/reforms to the tax system so, yeah

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good introduction. This is the first time I had to actually use the knowledge I gathered in high school economics since.... High school?

[Chris M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author is very knowledgeable and makes a good case for UBI. It's interesting to see what would be possible in the economy if people weren't making decisions out of fear and moving about with a scarcity mindset. However, I didn't learn much new or interesting regarding UBI in this book. UBI itself is still very theoretical and there is not enough evidence to support a sustainable intervention like this on a large scale, but it may be necessary to look into it in the near future as AI comes into the picture.

[Hakan · Rating 1 out of 5]

complete waste of time tackles no other than basic arguments comes to the mind immediately. I was expecting much more insightful book that improve by thinking about UBI. however it just a AI generated-like paraphrasing circle jerk

[Sydney DenHartigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive intro to UBI! Very easy to read, very little Econ knowledge needed.

[Simon Prince · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brief and really well written.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book. One of the best descriptions of UBI I've read. Widequist covers it all, what it is, how it works, where it's worked, and why we need it. A great lesson on UBI from someone who knows UBI.