A Decent Level for All: Economic Justice and Universal Basic Income

“Instituting UBI could help us to transcend traditional distinctions between the ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ poor that have shaped poverty policy for far too long.”

Demands for “economic justice” in public policy debates are emotionally powerful, imparting a profound sense of purpose and moral urgency to a cause. However, these appeals must be more than a mere rhetorical tactic. Clarity about ends is a prerequisite for choosing effective means.
Of the three contrasting accounts of economic justice most commonly considered—economic egalitarianism, laissez-faire capitalism, and the “decent level view”—economic egalitarianism and laissez-faire each fall short in their own way. The decent level view constitutes the most plausible account of economic justice.

Universal basic income is a potential means of implementing the decent-level view. Although dialogue and debate should continue, universal basic income could be a feasible vehicle for achieving economic justice in our society.

What Is Wrong With Economic Egalitarianism?

Economic egalitarianism is “the doctrine that it is desirable for everyone to have the same amounts of income and of wealth.” Economic egalitarianism is attractive to many people repulsed by the excesses of our economic status quo. They survey our society, where some are stuck in abject poverty while others are sitting on more wealth than they could possibly spend in a thousand lifetimes and correctly conclude that something has gone horribly awry. Still, they are mistaken to identify economic inequality as the root problem and an equal division of wealth as the remedy.
If economic egalitarians were to reflect at length on what bothers them about the current system, I think most would come to see that inequality is not really the issue. Our economy generates astonishing wealth and abundance, yet many remain mired in poverty. This is a scandal. But it is not the inequality per se that makes it so disgraceful; rather it is our collective choice to permit poverty despite having at our disposal the resources to eradicate it.