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On the Political Feasibility of Universal Basic Income: An Analytic Framework

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Basic Income Guarantee and Politics

Part of the book series: Exploring the Basic Income Guarantee ((BIG))

Abstract

For much of the last two decades, debate around the proposal of a universal basic income (BI) centered on arguing the ethical and economic case for instituting a policy that grants each adult citizen a guaranteed income as a right, without a means test or work requirement (Van Parijs 1992, 1995; Dowding et al. 2003; Standing 2005; Widerquist et al. 2005; Ackerman et al. 2006). The question of how to bring about such a policy—the question of political feasibility—has only recently gained traction amongst BI advocates. Leaving aside some notable exceptions, much work remains to be done to further our understanding of the challenges faced by BI advocates and the strategies available to overcome these. In this chapter, we aim to contribute to this enterprise by outlining an analytical framework to think about the political feasibility of BI in a more systematic manner.

We are grateful to Richard Caputo for the invitation to contribute to this volume and for written comments on an earlier draft. We are also grateful to Lindsay Stirton for permission to use the fruits of a longstanding collaborative effort in the institutional feasibility section of this chapter. José A. Noguera also thanks financial support by the National Plan for R&D and the CONSOLIDER-INGENIO Programme of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN, Grant Nos. CSO2009–09890, CSD2010–00034-Simulpast).

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Authors
  1. Jurgen De Wispelaere
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  2. José Antonio Noguera
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Richard K. Caputo

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© 2012 Richard K. Caputo

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Wispelaere, J.D., Noguera, J.A. (2012). On the Political Feasibility of Universal Basic Income: An Analytic Framework. In: Caputo, R.K. (eds) Basic Income Guarantee and Politics. Exploring the Basic Income Guarantee. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137045300_2

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