As the economic crisis deepens in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic many are looking for solutions. The immediate and serious challenges faced by workers has caused some to see Universal Basic Income (UBI) as a potential policy to address the crisis. The idea of providing people with adequate income supports is a completely understandable response when millions are facing unprecedented financial hardship. Governments are dolling out billions in bid to solve the crisis, so why not institute a UBI? But before we jump lockstep behind the idea of advocating for UBI, it is worth taking a harder look at this policy that claims it is neither right nor left, but above the ideological fray. Pushing UBI as a solution to the capitalist crisis would have serious negative consequences for the working class. UBI seeks to sustain the capitalist system while opening the door to the right to rollback public services and attack workers’ rights. Over the coming months Spring Magazine will be publishing more analysis about UBI. In the meantime we offer up this critical reading list as a resource to learn more about the potential pitfalls of UBI.
The Pandemic and Basic Income
Basic Income is not the answer to the crisis by John Clarke
A Basic Income Is a Lifeline in This Crisis — But Can’t Solve Everything by Emilio Caja and Leonie Hoffmann
Basic reasons to oppose basic income by John Clarke
Basic income is on the table in Canada. Is it the fight we want? by Dan Darrah
The Politics of Basic Income
Universal Basic Income: reasons to be cheerful or no go central? by Ellen Clifford and Mark Dunk
Universal basic income doesn’t work. Let’s boost the public realm instead by Anna Coote
The Basic Income Illusion by Alex Gourevitch and Lucas Stanczyk
Bread and Roses: Beyond a Basic Income by Mary-Dan Johnston
Basic Income In The Neoliberal Age by The Ontario Coalition Against Poverty
Basic Income and the Left: Political and economic problems by David Bush
Basic Income as a Neoliberal Weapon by John Clarke
Alaska’s universal basic income problem by Robyn Sundlee
What Basic Income means for disabled people by Aj Withers and John Clarke
Basic Income: Libertarian wedge or a plank towards a socialist future by Christo Aivalis
Who wants a universal basic income? by Leigh Phillips
How progressive is a basic income? left and labour perspectives by Toby Sanger
Basic Income by What’s Left
The Conversation About Basic Income is a Mess. Here’s How to Make Sense of It by Yves Smith
The False Promise of Universal Basic Income by Alyssa Battistoni
Basic Income: A Sellout of the American Dream by David H. Freedman
Basic income: Progressive dreams meet neoliberal realities by John Clarke
Status Quo? Basic Income? No! by David Bush
Universal Basic Income: A Capitalist Fix to the Evils of Capitalism? by Esteban Mercatante
With friends like theses, who needs the UBI? by Eric Pelkey
The Economics of Basic Income
Universal Basic Income – A Report for Unions by Anna Coote and Edanur Yazici
A policy maker’s guide to Basic Income by David MacDonald
Beware of Basic Income by Michal Rozworski
Basic income – too basic, not radical enough by Michael Roberts
Universal Basic Income May Sound Attractive But, If It Occurred, Would Likelier Increase Poverty Than Reduce It by Robert Greenstein
Ontario and Basic Income
The Basic Income debate by Pam Frache
The scheming Liberals’ Basic Income plan by Nora Loreto
Ontario’s Austerity Government Sets Basic Income Trap by John Clarke
Looking the Basic Income Gift Horse in the Mouth by John Clarke
In opposition to the Ontario Liberal government’s “Basic Income Guarantee” by What’s Left
Four (more) arguments against real-world basic income by Michal Rozworski
Basic Income and Finland
The UBI Bait and Switch by Matt Bruenig, Antti Jauhiainen, and Joona-Hermanni Mäkinen
Finland’s Basic Income experiment: A step backward disguised as progress by Edmund Schluessel and Sosialistinen Vaihtoehto
Universal basic income ‘useless’, says Finland’s biggest union by Raine Tiessalo
Even in Finland, universal basic income is too good to be true by Declan Gaffney
Why Basic Income Failed in Finland by Jimmy O’Donnell
Why Finland’s Basic Income Experiment Isn’t Working by Antti Jauhiainen and Joona-Hermanni Mäkinen
History and Labour of Basic Income
The Failure of a Past Basic Income Guarantee, the Speenhamland System by Yves Smith
Guaranteed Annual Income: Is This Really What We Want? by Jean Swanson
Why We Need a Federal Job Guarantee by Mark Paul, William Darity Jr, & Darrick Hamilton
Job Guarantee Versus Basic Income Guarantee by Yves Smith
Basic Income or a reduced work week? An old labour debate by David Bush
Understanding Basic Income: OPSEU position paper by OPSEU
Workers Hold the Keys by Vivek Chibber
Basic Income and Automation
Automation and the Basic Income: Beyond the hype by David Bush
If robots took our jobs, could they do them? by Joseph Choonara
The Great Tech Panic: Robots Won’t Take All Our Jobs by James Surowiecki
High Tech, Low Growth: Robots and the Future of Work by Kim Moody
Automation and the future of work by Aaron Benanav
Robots and AI: utopia or dystopia? by Michael Roberts
Into the digital void? by Martin Upchurch
Automation: will robots take our jobs? by David Bush
Did you like this article? Help us produce more like it by donating $1, $2, or $5. Donate