Why Legendary Economists Liked Universal Basic Income
The idea wasn’t invented by today’s big-government left. It has intrigued thinkers from John Stuart Mill to Milton Friedman.
By Stephen Mihm
Is socialism on the march in the U.S., as President Donald Trump warned in the State of the Union address this month? Hardly, but some recent proposals undoubtedly raised the prospect of a sharp lurch to the left, most notably the growing enthusiasm among Democrats for a guaranteed cash payment to all members of society.
At first glance, the idea of a universal basic income, or UBI, reeks of pie-in-the-sky idealism. Nonetheless, it’s been gaining traction among U.S. progressives, even popping up in the recent discussions about a Green New Deal. In addition, it is part of the conversation in several countries, including India, and has already had a trial run in Finland, a country well known for its elaborate social safety net.
But the idea of handing out an equal lump sum of free money to all with no strings attached isn’t just a pet project of woolly-headed leftists. Since the late 18th century, UBI hasn’t been seen as a form of welfare so much as a way to get rid of welfare entirely. That may explain why it has attracted such an eclectic group of supporters…
