Universal Basic Income Must Be Compatible With Degrowth
Several years before I even started my YouTube channel I have been a strong advocate for Universal Basic Income. I still am. Since then, after having learned about de growth, ecological economics, feminist economics, modern monetary theory, economic inequality, economic democracy, and much more, I have come to the conclusion that UBI remains the most powerful policy that can be implemented today, but it needs to be done carefully, and needs to be part of a much bigger package that is aligned with a degrowth agenda.
Let’s see what that means.
Universal Basic Income is a periodic cash payment unconditionally delivered to all on an individual basis, without means-test or work requirement. Degrowth is the expansion of social agency and wellbeing for all humans, within the limits of Earth, through a selective reduction of production and consumption to lighten ecological footprint, planned democratically in the spirit of social justice.
UBI is just one of the hundreds of policy instruments within the degrowth agenda, however not all supporters of UBI also advocate for degrowth, which is a problem, because once we zoom out of the poverty problem addressed by UBI, we realize that there are many other problems we are facing today such as the collapse of the climate and of the biosphere, migration, or fascism.
Can UBI fix all these problems on its own? Unfortunately it cannot. Paying all citizens a monthly basic income, while taxing the super rich is not enough. This is where degrowth comes into the picture. Degrowth has a holistic understanding of all the interconnected crises of our society.
1. For example, when we talk about wealth inequality, as bad as it is today, we should also consider the ecological context in which it is happening. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2022), the richest ten percent of the global population contribute 50% of greenhouse gas emissions while the poorest 50% are responsible for just ten percent. Around 690 million people live in extreme poverty on less than $2.15 per day, and 3.5 billion people live on less than $6.85 a day. 60% of billionaire wealth is from inheritance, cronyism, or monopoly. We can forget stories about meritocracy, hard work, or brilliant ideas. Those are lies told to us by the super rich to make us believe that anyone can be like them, if we just work hard enough. Of course, if UBI takes the money from the super rich and redistributes to everyone else fairly, it will have a powerful effect to reduce inequality. At the same time, some other policies will have to address the problem with consumption and production, where the emissions and the environmental degradation are happening.
2. UBI may solve poverty and inequality to some extent, but does not solve the problem with excessive consumption and unnecessary production. This is why UBI needs to be complemented with maximum limits on wealth and some fair and just rationing of both consumption and production of goods and services that are most destructive for the environment.
3. Capitalism can easily capture the idea of UBI. Capitalist influen cers like Bernard Marr are asking themselves if AI will make universal basic income inevitable. Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI has funded a UBI experiment in Texas and Illinois with very positive results. Andrew Yang, a bipartisan capitalist who ran for president of the USA, has advocated for a $1000 a month basic income. There is no shortage of capitalists who like UBI. They believe UBI will allow people to keep buying stuff, to keep consumerism going. They say UBI is about reducing poverty but in reality they want us to keep buying their stuff, and to keep them rich. Even if it may cost money to implement, UBI remains very much compatible with capitalism. This is yet another reason to bundle UBI with other policies that take power and wealth away from the super rich.
4. Some calculations from Canada.
In Canada, a guaranteed livable basic income could cut poverty rates by 40%, says a report from the Parliamentary Budget Office. A guaranteed livable basic income (GLBI) — which is a version of basic income that is not universal, meaning only certain people will get it — could be implemented at a relatively low cost of $3.6 billion annually. This is a small price to pay for reducing poverty by 40%, especially when you consider that Canada currently spends more than $80 billion per year on approaches that are not reducing poverty, homelessness, mental health and addictions.
The Government of Canada has posted on their website on Jan 29, 2025 this question: Will degrowth become necessary by itself? They go on to list signs of degrowth: management of commercial forests based on resilience, quotas at tourist sites, ending planned obsolescence, and the four-day work week.
It appears, some top politicians know every well about basic income, and about degrowth. However, it seems that they either do not know enough, or are beholden to some sort of cultural capture, or obedience to the line of their party. This is when electoral democracy gets in the way of economic democracy and justice.
5. Experiments and pilots.
The UBI Data Explorer has tracked UBI experiments in 6 countries, covering over 200000 people, with over 20000 recipients. All these pilots prove the same thing: that UBI works. However, experiments and pilots have their limitations as well: they are expensive, they are limited in time, they are not always demographically representative, they are more quantitative than qualitative.
Researcher Nicholas Langridge has explained that a degrowth UBI must:
Reduce unnecessary material consumption
Alleviate poverty and wealth inequality
Facilitate the move from wage-labour to meaningful work
Increase social and political participation
Achieve wellbeing within ecological limits
The idea of linking degrowth with UBI is still in its infancy. More research is needed, that is not limited to pilots, but also includes laboratory experiments, in-depth interviews, and economic modelling. This research can answer questions such as:
does UBI encourage individual consumption over collective provisioning
how effective is UBI in providing sufficiency to all without increasing unnecessary material consumption
how do we pay for UBI and be compatible with degrowth
how can UBI be implemented in a way which re-centres society around care and not profit
what impact does UBI have on social relationships
how does UBI interact with universal basic services (UBS), in achieving a degrowth transition.
In fact, any policy, not just UBI, would have to consider the bigger picture, would have to be coordinated in such a way that no human is left behind, and the diversity of life is guaranteed to continue on Earth.