Description

The objection to an unconditional basic income is threefold. First, unconditionality is unjust, because it is at odds with reciprocity. Why should society grant benefits without demanding service in return? Second, a basic income is either too low to alleviate poverty or too high to be economically feasible. The disincentive effects caused by a tax rate necessary to sustain a basic income replacing conditional welfare would result in a reduction in economic efficiency. And third, unconditional payments are not only undeserved, but create strong incentives to drop out of the labor force, which again results in a reduction in economic efficiency. The aim of this thesis is the analysis of a basic income scheme in the light of the objections formulated above. As the analysis will show, a basic income is compatible with libertarian theories of justice and is in principle capable of improving economic efficiency.