BBI #165: Basic Income 4 — History: From Utopian Dream to Worldwide Movement

We continue our discussion of the 2017 book "Basic Income: A Radical Proposal for a Free Society and a Sane Economy" by Philippe Van Parijs and Yannick Vanderborght.

https://www.amazon.com/Basic-Income-Radical-Proposal-Society/dp/0674237463/

This week, we discuss Chapter 4 — History: From Utopian Dream to Worldwide Movement. Basic income is such a simple idea that it would be strange for people not to stumble on it completely independently of one another. This chapter looks back through history to explore ideas that share some similarities with basic income, and how these various ideas gradually came together through the basic income movement.

What can we learn about basic income by examining how thinkers of the past few centuries thought about distributing money properly? What problems did they manage their income distribution schemes solving? To what extent are they the same problems that basic income solves? To what extent has the basic income movement benefited from this historical thought?

BBI #92: History of UBI
https://youtu.be/mbtIL9oG23I

BBI #119: Basic Income's Prospects
https://anchor.fm/bostonbasicincome/episodes/119--Basic-Incomes-Prospects-ejqe13

BBI #156: Lessons From Alaska
https://youtu.be/HTbPkHrbLr4

By default, audience cameras and microphones will remain disabled. To ask a question, type it in the Zoom chat.

If you'd like to ask your question aloud, also click the "Raise Hand" button on the "Participants" tab. The hosts will unmute you when it's your turn.

The discussion will be streamed live at this URL:
https://www.youtube.com/bostonbasicincome/live

It will also be available in podcast form in the following days:
https://anchor.fm/bostonbasicincome

Portrait of Charles Fourier by Jean Gigoux
(https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fran%C3%A7oise_Foliot_-Jean_Gigoux-_Portrait_de_Charles_Fourrier.jpg)