Universal Basic Income (UBI)

Universal Basic Income, or UBI, is an old idea that keeps coming back, especially when people consider the cost of living for the average individual. In this week's "What Would Hayek Say?" we take a look at this concept, which has appealed to some socialists and liberals alike, although for different reasons. Milton Friedman, for example, popularized the idea of a negative income tax, which some have likened to a universal basic income. And scholars have used Hayek's own philosophy to argue both for and against UBI, even if Hayek himself did not explicitly express his view on the matter. A universal basic income rests on two criteria: universality and unconditionality. The first of these criteria was dear to Hayek, and in both his early and late work he is open to some sort of a minimum safety net for all people. But whether UBI fits Hayek's criteria or not is a matter of dispute. Finally, our video looks at some of the practical issues raised by a universal basic income, foremost among them being its cost, as well as the experience of Switzerland and Finland which have both explored the idea in their own countries.

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Sources cited :

https://www.niskanencenter.org/hayek-...

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.c...

https://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/t...

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Scott B. Nelson is Research and Strategy Advisor at the Austrian Economics Center and Hayek Institut in Vienna, Austria. He is author of "Tragedy and History: The German Influence on Raymond Aron's Political Thought". His latest book is "Cicero, Politics, and the 21st Century". Nelson heads the reading group The Vienna Symposium

(https://vienna-symposium.com).

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