Universal Income, in part EC370 platform for the Green Party, is a trending topic of the 2015 UK Elections. It’s the Green’s way of establishing inalienable rights to British people by providing an economic ass cushion them when they fall on hard times.
While it doesn’t quite reach the mark of a Supreme Union of Socialist British Republics, it’s a good start. However, like most reformist approaches to income inequality, it always sounds savory, but just gets swallowed by the jaws of the Leviathan Capitalist Boondoggle.
Basic Income must resolve the Welfare Paradox in order to be effective. While viable for those who genuinely need it, the idea of free money is catnip for lazy bums, burnt-lipped crack aficionados, and general shiftless system pimps. Productivity will collapse under this initiative if not regulated carefully. Due to the homegrown nature of self-entitled freeloaders, not even xenophobic nationalists like Nigel Farage would see it coming, or have any power to stop it.
The other heads of the BI Beast are Inefficiency and Corruption. These two are in full operation under the current economic structure, and most politicians simply will not give a Basic Fuck, let alone Basic Income, to anyone. BI is perfect leverage for silencing dissent. Just ask every monarch in the Middle East. One complaint and you’re taken off the payroll.
In short, I think that Basic Income doesn’t resolve the contradictions of capitalism . It’s not revolutionary enough and lacks a class of proletarians who are conscious enough to distribute wealth the old-fashioned way. Furthermore, it will be highly vulnerable to predatory members of Parliament, and most notably, corporations, for its inevitable dismantlement.
