Harper Lee — Success, Creativity and Basic Income
Harper Lee is the writer extraordinaire who wrote the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, which was also made into an excellent movie. If you didn’t read the book, I’d advise to stop reading this essay, pick up a copy and read it. Even though the film is great, the book is an absolute masterpiece. Each chapter is perfectly crafted; each sentence is wonderful. And of course, the content, the implications for the African-American civil rights movement, the view of life through the eyes of a child, the code of honor it portraits that hardly exists this day and age, everything about it is as poignant as it was back then. A must-read for everyone.
Here, though, my interest in Harper Lee comes from the often-cited connection between her and the idea of a Basic Income. Basic Income is the policy according to which there should be a minimum level of income guaranteed to all. This minimum, also often referred to as a “safety net,” would ensure that no one falls below a certain level and has a guaranteed minimum to provide for their basic needs. Harper Lee is said to have benefited from a Basic Income of sorts in the form of a gift she received from a couple, Michael and Joy Brown, which in turn helped her to write To Kill a Mockingbird, one of the most famous books of all time. So let’s explore a little regarding how Harper Lee came to be in a position to receive a Basic…
