Basic income reconsidered : social justice, liberalism and the demands of equality / Simon Birnbaum.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Birnbaum, Simon.

Series:

Exploring the basic income guarantee

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Income distribution.

Income maintenance programs.

Social justice.

Liberalism.

Equality.

Physical Description:

xii, 246 pages ; 23 cm.

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.

Summary:

The idea of guaranteeing every member of society an unconditional Basic income is one of the most innovative and powerful proposals for countering our growing economic inequalities and sustainably preventing poverty. But would this be a just thing to do? In the last few decades, debates on the ethics and economics of Basic Income have become increasingly sophisticated and diverse. Basic Income Reconsidered provides an up-to-date assessment of these arguments, and works out a novel contribution based on the justification of unconditional universalism. Birnbaum's argument studies the Basic Income proposal, and its main rivals, through the lens of John Rawls' theory of justice and defends a radical-liberal interpretation of Rawls' conception. It is radical in the sense that it demands far-reaching equalization of opportunities. It is, at the same time, liberal by insisting that people must be left free to use their resource shares for a much wider range of purposes and life plans than those typically accessible through existing welfare states. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Basic Income, Liberal Egalitarianism, and the Study of Social Justice 3

Part I A Society of Equals: Radical Liberalism, Self-Respect, and Basic Income

2 Equality of Status and Its Priority: A Rawlsian Case for Basic Income 41

3 Are Only Contributors Entitled to Social Rights? Cooperation, Reciprocity, and the Boundaries of Social Justice 65

Part II The Exploitation Objection against Basic Income: Equality of Opportunity, Luck, and Responsibility

4 Why Unconditional Transfers Are Not Exploitative 89

5 Jobs as Gifts: A Reconstruction and a Qualified Defense 117

Part III The Feasibility of Basic Income: Social Ethos, Work, and the Politics of Universalism

6 Why Do People Work If They Don't Have To? Basic Income, Liberal Neutrality, and the Work Ethos 145

7 Social Justice in Practice: On the Political Implications of Radical Liberalism 171.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780230114067

0230114067

OCLC:

738335446