In the maze of thoughts ... UBI; next step in our life or devil in disguise?
Oh dear, this is going to be topic to delve into. Especially from a perspective of someone with my background; both personal and historical. But the discussion about this is inevitable and I have some insights and even some related personal progression on the idea. So let’s explore.
Universal Basic Income, UBI for short, is in the simplest terms “you get paid for existing”. Sounds neat on paper, right? Like, you appear into this world and you’re already getting salary! Only one small issue, you’re probably too young to even understand what money is, let alone salary. Still, you’re being provided resources that can be exchanged for your sustenance in the time you have allocated in this world. And all you have to do for them is to remember to breathe, eat, drink, occasionally remove body waste and of course sleep. Sounds easy enough, right? But also a little boring. There’s so much free time between these which could be filled with other things. Maybe something creative? Or maybe helping someone? You might have a set skills that you can, you know, trade. What kind of skills? Whatever skill you want to pursue. And the nice thing is you can change your mind and try to learn a new one without the risk of losing your well-being because you know, you still get the “existence salary”. Anything above is a bonus for your own incentive.
“But Rawi, who will work when everyone is a free-loader?” My dear reader, and how in your enlightened wisdom do you think all the facilities are going to work in this system? Magic? Unicorn farts? Believe it or not, my dear, someone has to make this thing running. And guess who it is. That’s right! PEOPLE! The very same people who are making the current system running. You know, all the services, shops, factories, cool IT thingies. People also known as workers, employees, citizens etc. Also, free-loaders? Care to tell me what was so exceptional in your life that you deserve special treatment? And no, finishing school and/or university doesn’t count because that’s just something that’s expected of you to be a productive member of society. Doesn’t matter how much money you threw into the fire under the promise of being “someone special”.
Anyway, I’m not here to rant about snowflakes with skin so soft that they accept any bullshit thrown at them. We’re here now to talk about the system that’s been proven to work through so many studies. So many times it was shown that people didn’t in fact stop doing what they’re doing. Instead, they were even more motivated because it’s easier to do your work when it’s not a mean of survival but a way to feel like you’re doing something right. And yet, we’re still stubborn or possibly too stupid to see it. Or are we?
Each time I was presented with this discussion, three questions popped in my head:
How do you set up the UBI so it provides to everyone’s needs properly?
How do you sustain the system?
How do you make sure it doesn’t get abused like the welfare systems of today?
In every discussion I asked these, I wasn’t able to obtain a satisfactory answer. There was no shortage of ideas but none of them made me feel that they’re close to the solution since I couldn’t help but try and pick it apart. And each time I found something that instantly made my brain go “nope, this isn’t going to work”. But in past few days these questions crossed my mind again and suddenly, an epiphany. I got the answers right under my nose.
Answer 1: This is a technical question and the answer lies in setting up the system itself. Keep in mind that shift to UBI can be done so subtly that you won’t notice it at all. Or it can be such a huge shift that’s not compatible with how the things are going now so it has to be build from the ground up. And when you have clean slate, you can do whatever you want and it’s you who sets the constraints, making any worries in relation to the previous state of things irrelevant.
Answer 2: *points to the rant above* Here’s the answer. People will do extra things to make their standard of living just that little bit better. Wait, that sounds selfish. Personal, that’s the word. And remember, you don’t have to worry about losing your well-being because you’re still provided enough to sustain yourself. And if you can safely keep yourself afloat, you have the room to help someone else. There you go. There’s the answer.
Answer 3: This one requires a bit of backstory first. My country has quite a significant Roma population. And as you may know, they’re not treated exactly well. On one hand, their previously nomadic culture isn’t exactly 100% compatible with the more settled way of life we have. At the same time however, any attempt at integration is lukewarm at best and the level of prejudice doesn’t help either. I grew up during the early 2000s where Roma people were considered “lesser people”. Usually pushed to the edges of cities, away from the centres. You’d say it’s for safety. But how does “sweeping the issues under the carpet” contribute to safety? But this is a conversation for another time.
The reason I put this story here is that the same people are being viewed as “welfare queens”. And while they do get significant support, let me ask you this question: How come the system allows this? How come the system is fine with not only negative racism/xenophobia by making them “lesser people” but at the same time positive racism/xenophobia (yes, positive discrimination is a thing and it has the same roots as the negative one) by allowing them to exploit this loophole? Can you answer?
Let’s do some perspective-taking. Imagine you’re in a situation they experience. You’re considered “lesser being” thus by default excluded from many things due to prejudice. At this point your options are either to turn criminal or find a questionable loophole. In either case however, you’re not viewed favourably. But what if there was no incentive because you’d always have at the very leas the basic support? Imagine you didn’t need to do this because you’re already given all the sustenance you need from the start and you’re free to pursue whatever you want? And there you have it. There’s your answer to the last question from my list. The abuse issue resolves itself by making the abuse not worth the effort. Why abuse something when I don’t get any benefit from it? Keep in mind that humans are to a certain extent benefit-driven beings. And if there’s no benefit, why do it in the first place?
Wow, did I just solve the issues here? Well, no. In fact, I haven’t addressed the second part of the title. And it’s not going to be a cheery story. How come? Read the end of the previous paragraph; benefit-driven beings. Now look at what people are capable of doing to squeeze any tiny profit for themselves. How easily people abandon any ethical and moral boundaries or any boundaries in general. Not to mention that the system will need some way of arbitration. And who do you give this to? Some representatives? Then it’s not much different than what we have now and it takes only one person clever and insane enough to turn this into hell. Some form of anarchy? How do you enforce any form of rules in such a system? Remember, rules not enforced are rules non-existent. It’s quite disheartening to have the solution to many issues of current world right in front of you only to realise that the final few steps are the ones where something can pull the rug from under your feet and not only have you fall but also break your legs in such a way that you won’t be able to move anymore.
So, is UBI the next step in our life? I cautiously lean towards “yes”. Are we ready for this life? No. No, we’re not. Not until we at the very least stop painting slavery rosy pink and call it “dedication”.
R.R.A.