Karl Widerquist is the author of the new book Universal Basic Income. His other books include The Prehistory of Private Property. He is a professor of philosophy at Georgetown University-Qatar.
Q: What inspired you to write Universal Basic Income?
A: I've been writing about UBI since the 20th century, but I was doing it as a philosopher and economist, writing research that's not necessarily very accessible to nonspecialsits.
I'd thought many times about writing an introductory book, but it never got high on my agenda until MIT Press contacted me and said that they'd like to have me write a book for this series.
On a deeper level, I've been inspired to write on Universal Basic Income because I think one of the central injustices of our times is the treatment of disadvantaged people.
We have so many myths we tell ourselves about the virtues of the well-off and the vices of the disadvantaged. But in the end, they're just myths.
The reality is that the system is set up to have a bunch of disadvantaged who will do the crap work and who will do it cheap. That system harms everyone. That has to change. Universal Basic Income helps give lower- and middle-income people the power to change that system into one where we can all thrive.
Q: What are some of the most common perceptions and misconceptions about universal basic income?
A: The biggest misconception is that Universal Basic Income is something for nothing. The opposite is true.
We have made a system of rules that disadvantage low- and middle-class people, rules that say that a few very advantaged people own most of the Earth that was here before all of us, and the rest of us don't get a piece until we spend 40 hours a week working for more advantaged people.
Only when those who have more pay those who have less in the form of UBI or something very similar will we have a society built on the concept that if you take something you have to pay for it.
Q: What do you see looking ahead when it comes to the adoption of this concept?
A: We have to change the power structures in the world. We don't live in a true democracy. Our campaign finance system is essentially a system of legalized bribery and corruption. Our legislation is responsive to the wants of the wealthiest few not to the average person. Money speaks louder than votes, partly because it controls the dialogue, and it controls which candidates are “viable” in advance of voting.
The countries with the best social support systems are also the ones with the most genuinely democratic political systems—places like Finland, Norway, and Iceland.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?
A: I hope they come away with an understanding of what UBI is and why it is so important to a growing movement of people around the world. If they actually gain some sympathy for that movement, that’s a bonus.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: After focusing on books for more than 10 years, I’m getting a lot of little projects out the door. I recently published an article on the cost of Basic Income in the United Kingdom. I have one that is about to come out on the “Functional Finance” theory of economics and the sustainability of UBI.
Another one—an expanded chapter from the book—on automation and UBI will probably come out soon. And I’m also working on one on the question of whether cryptocurrencies can support a UBI and bypass the government.
I also have some big book projects I want to get back to after I get the small things out the door. These include a historical book called the Political Philosophers: The Lives and Ideas of the People Who Shaped the Western Cannon of Political Philosophy and a foundational theory of justice called Justice as the Pursuit of Accord.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: People need to know that UBI is for everyone. The system we have now is based on the stress and fear of almost everyone who works for a living. This system is only good for wealthy people who like to pay low wages.
UBI is good for all workers because the worst thing you can do for a worker is to put them in the position in which they have no other choice than to take a job. Workers need the power to say no, not just to any one job but to all jobs if they so choose.
When the 99 percent have this power, we’ll see better wages and working conditions for everyone. We’ll see less sexual harassment on the job. We’ll see healthier children. We’ll see a kinder and more humane society.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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