Introduction
In February I hosted a one night event that consisted of presentations about utopia and implementing your idealized way of living into reality. After the presentations we watched a bunch of dystopian sci fi movies that showed how one person’s utopia is another person’s dystopia. I had been reading a lot of articles and texts about the subject too and produced a small booklet with some of my readings, summarized essays about what I had been reading, and essays written by people who responded to my public call for writing. You can read more about the night at my art blog.

I thought that this would be an appropriate place to share some of the reading with you. I’ll post some of the short articles from that publication here on this blog. The readings all have somethign to do with utopian visions, ideal politics in action, utopian communities, or the hope for such. Much of the text may be straight from the website, I never claimed that it was my own. Here you go:

Basic Income
I am providing a very rough presentation of what I found to be an interesting proposal – that every person should be provided with a base income regardless of employment or income level. I have asked someone I know to present more information about this at the science fiction marathon and I hope that he will, but I do not yet have the presentation confirmed…So I present you with what I’ve discovered about this idea:

A basic income is an income unconditionally granted to all on an individual basis, without means test or work requirement. It is a form of minimum income guarantee that differs from those that now exist in various European countries in three important ways:
*it is being paid to individuals rather than households;
*it is paid irrespective of any income from other sources;
*it is paid without requiring the performance of any work or the willingness to accept a job if offered.

Liberty and equality, efficiency and community, common ownership of the Earth and equal sharing in the benefits of technical progress, the flexibility of the labour market and the dignity of the poor, the fight against inhumane working conditions, against the desertification of the countryside and against interregional inequalities, the viability of cooperatives and the promotion of adult education, autonomy from bosses, husbands and bureaucrats, have all been invoked in its favour.

But it is the inability to tackle unemployment with conventional means that has led in the last decade or so to the idea being taken seriously throughout Europe by a growing number of scholars and organizations. Social policy and economic policy can no longer be conceived separately, and basic income is increasingly viewed as the only viable way of reconciling two of their respective central objectives: poverty relief and full employment.

Basic Income is a policy idea that could help us revolutionise the way we organise society, Daniel Raventós argues. Raventós is chair of the Spanish Basic Income Network, and Professor at the University of Barecelona. His book is a first-class introduction to basic income – what it is, how we can organise it, and how it can benefit the majority in different spheres of their lives. Basic Income is simply the idea that everyone in a given society has a right to a minimal income. This is paid by the state out of taxation. Unconditionally set at a subsistence level, it would take the place of unemployment and other conditional benefits, and enhance effective freedom. This would bring profound social changes, Raventos argues. The campaign in favour of basic income is growing and governments are beginning to take notice. This is a clear, concise guide to the principles and practicalities of this revolutionary idea.
-found on the Basic Income Earth Network website

Developments in the USA

At the end of September 2007, Hillary Clinton argued in favour of a bold idea: every child should have the right to share in the inherited wealth created by preceding generations. As a citizen, he or she should receive a baby bond of $5,000 that represents an inheritance from the wealth created by his predecessors. [A baby bond is not a basic income, but is based on the same idea of a universal claim to resources.] Ackerman & Alstott (Yale University, USA), authors of the Stakeholder Society, briefly sketch the rich history of this proposal, and explain why the Clinton proposal deserves a serious debate. “Like her or not”, Ackerman and Asltott argue, “Clinton deserves credit for taking a risk in raising a bold idea that could well contribute to a better America. If we ignore such acts of leadership, we will have only ourselves to blame when we complain that the candidates are boring us to distraction.”
-found on the Basic Income Earth Network November 2007 Newsletter