Recently, more and more often in the media the phrase "unconditional income" sounds. I mean - a certain amount of money on which you can fully live, and which is paid to an individual by the state only for the fact that he is a citizen thereof. Regardless of whether a citizen is working or not. Why did this seemingly insane idea appear and what can its implementation lead to?
WEALTH GROWS, ROBOTS COME
Let's say right away. Citizens of our country can hardly expect unconditional income in the near future. For one simple reason - we are poor. Despite the innumerable natural resources, this is a topic for another article. However, we have social assistance to one degree or another, which means there is a chance that unconditional income - its direct heir - will someday knock on our doors.
In any case, in some developed countries he is already knocking with might and main.
There are two reasons why the idea of an unconditional basic income has become relevant. The first and foremost is wealth. Roughly speaking, there is so much money that you can already give away. It is no secret that in such European countries as Germany, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, Denmark and some others, social assistance to poor citizens has reached such heights that often no effort is needed to stay afloat - the state and so will feed, clothe, put on and provide some kind of housing. However, poverty is a relative concept. You can pay unemployment benefits. Moreover, such that it would be enough to live on until a person finds a job by profession. Or it is possible - if there are funds in the budget, of course, - so that a person can calmly look for something to his liking. Having found, I calmly engaged in this business,without thinking about how to turn its results into money. Do you feel the difference?
The second reason is more interesting. This is robotization. Yes, not simple, but based on the development and widespread implementation of systems equipped with artificial intelligence (AI). We have written about this many times, but it is not a sin to repeat: the pace of progress of such systems is such that in the coming decades, apparently, millions of jobs around the world will be released. And robots will replenish the budget for free. And where, one wonders, to put the money? This is where the development and implementation of the idea of unconditional income will begin in all its glory.
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EXPERIMENTS
In 2014, German entrepreneur Mikael Bochmeyer began his experiment to pay an unconditional income. Once every few weeks, out of 66 thousand German citizens, several people were selected using the lottery, who were paid 1000 euros per month “just like that” during the year. The funds were collected by crowdfunding. In total, 26 people took part in the experiment, and they all spent the "free" money in different ways. Someone threw a crazy party to begin with, in order to, in his words, "remove the blues from the body." Some have dealt with the stress of fear of child support and job loss. One woman finally got down to something she liked - a theatrical production. The other went to travel. Another young man from the city of Münster (the same, by the way,where the once famous Munster commune happened) quit his hated job and went to finish his studies in order to finally get a dream job - a teacher in a kindergarten. And without exception, all 26 "testers" said they slept better. By the way, the fact that in Germany children and adolescents under 25 (!) Years old are entitled to a free monthly allowance of about $ 200 can be considered a partial implementation of the idea of unconditional income.
Or an experiment in India in 2011, when, with the support of the UNICEF charitable organization, the government paid monthly grants to all residents of 20 villages (more than 6 thousand people in total) for a year and a half. Not too much by our standards - 300 rupees for adults and 150 children, but this was enough to improve living conditions, increase school attendance and reduce caste conflicts.
If we talk about today, then right now the experiment continues in Finland, which began in January 2017. During this experiment, which should last until the end of this year, 2000 Finnish citizens receive 560 euros a month. Whether they have a job or not. The experiment was started by the government of our northern neighboring country with the aim of improving the system of social benefits. We will soon see what conclusion the Finns will draw and what decision they will make after the end of the experiment.
CAN, BUT DO NOT WANT
As we already wrote, only very rich countries can afford an unconditional basic income for all citizens. So, for example, in the summer of 2016, a nationwide referendum was held in Switzerland on whether such income should be introduced or not. Not weak, by the way, income. Every adult, whether employed or not, was guaranteed a monthly CHF 2,500 (approx. EUR 2,250), and every child 625 CHF. Looks like a fairy tale, right? Nevertheless, 77% of Swiss residents spoke out against free money, and the proposal did not pass. The Swiss did not want money "just like that", considering such a reform a threat to the country's economy with its traditionally high incomes, low unemployment (only 3.5%) and a balanced system of social security and health insurance. Interesting,that before the referendum, the proposal to introduce an unconditional basic income was considered by the government, and the country's parliament held a debate that lasted six hours. And there, and there the proposal did not pass, and in parliament a representative of the Swiss People's Party even called the draft "the most dangerous and harmful initiative that has ever been brought up for discussion." Nevertheless, the referendum took place. The result is well known - the people agreed with the opinion of the authorities. The result is known - the people agreed with the opinion of the authorities. The result is known - the people agreed with the opinion of the authorities.
But a sociological study conducted in the countries of the European Union (recall that Switzerland is not a member of the EU) showed that 64% of the inhabitants of these countries would vote for an unconditional basic income if they were offered it. It would seem that the difference in mentality is obvious. But it is not yet known what the numbers would be if such referendums were actually held. It is one thing to suppose what we would have done under certain conditions, and quite another to do it.
WORKING PERSON
So, today the situation is such that the idea of an unconditional basic income is unlikely to be implemented even in any single country, let alone groups of countries. And not only because it is inherently utopian and very much resembles the famous principle of communist theorists: "from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs", which principle is unattainable at the current level of development of society. And the fact is that the unconditional basic income is indeed very likely to turn a person into a pathological slacker. Which, by the way, can be easily traced on the example of the poorest segments of the black (and not only) the US population, where not the first generation has been living on social benefits - welfare is not going to stop. A century and a half ago, Friedrich Engels wrote the following words:"He (labor) is the first basic condition of all human life, and, moreover, to such an extent that in a certain sense we must say: labor created man himself." And no one, and nothing has yet been able to refute them. Another thing is that you can work and not for money - for the sake of interest, a sense of duty or at the behest of the soul. But this, as they say, is a completely different story.
Akim Bukhtatov
