In this publication, Guy Standing outlines how a basic income scheme could be piloted here in the UK.
Dr Standing argues that “the primary justifications for a basic income are ethical or moral” and that such a policy is “a matter of social justice“. Further, he argues that we are confronted by “eight modern giants” – challenges from economic insecurity and inequality to high levels of private debt and the threat of climate breakdown – and that a basic income would be key in confronting these giants.
The report, with a foreword by PEF Chair Patrick Allen, deals comprehensively with the common objections to a basic income scheme, but importantly moves the debate on to the question of pilot schemes, how to design them and where they should be carried out.
You can watch the launch of the report at the Royal Society of Arts on YouTube here, with speeches from Dr Standing, Patrick Allen, John McDonnell MP, Margaret Greenwood MP and Ed Miliband MP.