1. Universal Basic Income – a condition for Equal Democratic Opportunities?
Nordic Conference on Basic Income Pilots
September 22-23; 2016, Copenhagen
Thomas P. Boje
Department of Social Science and Business
Roskilde University

2. UBI and Equal Opportunities Content
Social and economic changes lead to social risks,
The conditions for citizens’ participation have changed,
Inclusion through participation in parity
Social justice and democratic participation – UBI as the solution
UBI and Equal Opportunities - Thomas P.Boje
12/30/2018

3. UBI and Equal Opportunities
New types of “social risks” appear in the European societies due to economic and social changes.
These new social risks have many faces but most important are
de-industrialization of employment creating mass unemployment / declining income among especially industrial workers but also more broadly
growing instability in the social network - changed family structure, low income, migration, segregation and
de-standardization of employment with a growth of atypical career patterns – precarious forms of employment
UBI and Equal Opportunities - Thomas P.Boje
12/30/2018

4. UBI and Equal Opportunities precariousness
Precarity was coined by Bourdieu (1963) and Standing (2011) – it means precarious labour and truncated citizenship. It it not social exclusion but rather a ”constitutive element of the new global disorder, to which it is very functional” Precarity represents market driven forces such as: Flexibility, availability, multilocality, compressed mobility Precarity represent both a condition in the global economy and a possible rallying point for resistance The precariat is a challenge for governments, trade unions but also for social justice and human rights movements
UBI and Equal Opportunities - Thomas P.Boje
12/30/2018

5. UBI and Equal Opportunities
The economic and social crisis in Europe has placed the involvement of citizens and citizenship rights on the political agenda and accentuated the importance of civic activities because:
Difficulties of involving citizens in strategic decision-making at community, national, and global level
Retrenchment of welfare services due to NPM, which especially has hurt the vulnerable groups of citizens.
Large groups of the population are not at all represented in the democratic processes of governance - especially the growing social groups covered by the precariat.
The citizenship rights have been restricted or eliminated for large groups of the population – unemployed, migrants, refugees etc.
UBI and Equal Opportunities - Thomas P.Boje
12/30/2018

6. UBI and Equal Opportunities Inclusion
Inclusion in the late-modern society varies from one social group to another - each type of inclusion is characterized by a specific form of civic participation . The different forms of inclusion must ensure that the gap between marginalized social groups and the majority is minimized. The inclusion has to be based on the principles of equality, solidarity and respect for other people's attitudes and ways of life and has to be an integral part of the public sphere of civil society.
UBI and Equal Opportunities - Thomas P.Boje
12/30/2018

7. UBI and Equal Opportunities
Universal basic income (UBI) as a solution?
Social justice
Basic social security
Emancipation – freedom of choice
To accomplish these three goals UBI must be
Universal income for all citizens who live in the nation-state
Sufficient high to cover basic needs
Unconditional income – no social control or demands
Income to be supplemented with other types of benefits / insurances
UBI and Equal Opportunities - Thomas P.Boje
12/30/2018

8. UBI and Equal Opportunities Participation in parity
UBI have consequences for Citizenship and Democratic Participation
claims for redistribution of the economic inequality created in the market economy
claims for recognition, which concerns outlawing discrimination and eliminating differences among citizens but also
claims on representation through a participatory democratic system where all citizens are involved in governing of the social and economic institutions at the different levels of the society
Two conditions are important for a equal representation namely a combination of ‘participatory democracy’ and ‘participation in parity’, which mean social arrangements that permit all citizens to participate equally and take decisions on equal terms in social life.
UBI and Equal Opportunities - Thomas P.Boje
12/30/2018

9. UBI and Equal Opportunities
‘When social distance is small, there is a feeling of common identity, closeness, and shared experiences. But when social distance is great, people perceive and treat the other as belonging to a different category’ (R. Putnam ‘Our kids’)
UBI and Equal Opportunities - Thomas P.Boje
12/30/2018