A Working Plan for a Minimum Utopia

Basic Income by van Parijs and Vanderborght (2017) is the most advanced take on the debate on a universal and unconditional basic income: even though it does not encompass a comprehensive review of the literature, it is set to become the reference reading for anyone interested to learn about this debate. Some arguments implicitly rely on neoclassical assumptions at the micro level and at the macro level. These assumptions may be particularly suited to convince the sceptics, and do not necessarily reflect van Parijs and Vanderborght's own economic thinking, which in the book is expressed in the most theory-neutral way possible. However, they once more show that neoclassical theory is perfectly capable of accommodating very radical policy proposals. In fact, van Parijs and Vanderborght remind the reader that conservative thinkers such as M. Friedman favored a negative income tax, and von Hayek thought that a basic income is a necessary feature of a free society.