BINS trustee Annie Miller discusses her new book and hopes it can provide the academic foundation for a new wave of Basic Income advocacy.
In August 2023, my Basic Income: A Short Guide, became available to the public. This slim volume is an extensively revised edition of my Essentials of Basic Income (2020), with two new chapters (4 and 7), several others completely re-written (2, 3, 5, 8, 12) and the others revised, extended and clarified. Despite being involved in the Basic Income (BI) debate for over 30 years, I am still learning, and, indeed, circumstances also change. This small book is my way of compacting my up-to-date knowledge for the benefit of others, into a clear, concise, competent and comprehensive account of BI, at a competitive price that should be accessible to most.
The first three chapters are concerned with the definitions of both a (uniform) BI and various alternatives, and the limitations of the latter, including contributory social insurance, income-tested social assistance, minimum income guarantees and negative income tax. Chapter 4 considers some ‘cases for differentiation’, including disability payments, and age-related adequacy. Chapter 5 suggests some necessary preparations prior to implementation and looks at alternative ways of implementing a BI where there is already a social security system. Chapters 6, 7 and 8 are concerned with sources of funding, defining the different costs involved and providing a strategy for financing a BI programme, which avoids competition for resources between taxation for redistribution and taxation for actual government expenditure on public services. Chapter 9 predicts the five simultaneous beneficial outcomes associated with a BI programme and its funding – the financial changes initially and then the attitudinal and behavioural changes that could follow. Chapter 10 considers who is likely to benefit from a BI scheme. The last four chapters cover macroeconomic effects, valid criticism of BI, and a brief outline of microsimulation modelling and pilot projects, before ending with a look at where the BI movement needs to go next.
This book is not about persuading people of the desirability of a BI. Instead, it creates a picture of how BI could work in practice anywhere in the world. It would be useful to anyone new to the subject who wants a tour through the basics, to become acquainted with some of the main underlying issues. Its main importance lies in its potential role serving as a reference manual for BI advocates worldwide. It provides the academic foundation for BI on which advocacy and activism should be rooted, avoiding the confusion that arises when activists use different terms for the same concept or the same term for different concepts. It could also help to avoid false expectations and accusations of misrepresentation by the public, and political opportunism by opponents. Academics and activists use different skills and voices and are complementary to each other. They need each other. A constant dialogue between them is necessary to give both of them greater authority.
This book should be useful for those working in the field of social security, poverty, inequality and wellbeing. I hope that politicians, civil servants, and other policy makers, academics, think tanks, opinion-formers, those in the third sector, trade unionists, religious leaders, people in business and potential activists will read this book to understand the potential of BI, how to implement it and some possibilities for financing it. Even current critics of BI should read it, so that they at least become familiar with the facts and can avoid arguing from false premises.
I am promoting this book, (my most important writing on BI so far), in order to spread the word, (all royalties go to the international global network Basic Income Earth Network, UK charity no: 1177066). It is essential that BI be adopted, along with other progressive policies, if we are to create future societies which are inclusive and just, in which all individuals can be empowered in their own lives and thrive. A world-wide BI system will also be necessary, to bring about world justice between nations, too.
Basic Income: A Short Guide is available through Luath Press Ltd.