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Reflections on Capitalism, Universal Basic Income, and Automation
The concept of Universal Basic Income (UBI) is not new, but surprisingly few have heard of it or truly understand the reason for it and why, now more than ever, it is vitally important. In simplest terms, UBI is a regular cash payment made to every person. The key word here is “universal”. You don’t need to work for it and you can do anything you want with it. Some see it as money for nothing, a lazy person’s way of getting a handout from the rest of society.
Proponents, many of whom don’t actually ‘need’ UBI, see it as a necessary means to keep the wheels of civilization running smoothly as automation increasingly renders many, if not most, of our current jobs redundant.
Automation replacing human workers by the millions is not mere fantasy, and unlike previous ‘industrial’ revolutions, we are entering an age where machines can, and will, do everything we can do. In earlier times, we could always say, “Well, sure machines can do this or that really well, but only humans can do this other thing.” Then, when machines did manage to do that particular thing, we’d move the bar and say, “Yeah, sure. Machines can do that now, but they’ll never be able to do this other, uniquely human, thing.” Soon enough, they’re moving the bar again. The truth is that we are running out of places to place that ‘bar’ as we enter a…
