Political Activism and Basic Income Guarantee

This edited volume brings together international and national scholars and major activists leading or spearheading basic income guarantee political initiatives in their respective countries. Contributing authors address specific issues about major efforts to influence public policy regarding basic income guarantee, such as: who were the main advocates and thought leaders involved in support of such legislative initiatives; what were the main organizational and framing strategies and tactics used to influence public opinion and elected officials to support the idea of and policies related to basic income guarantee; what were the major obstacles they faced; and what practical and theoretical lessons might be learned from past and contemporary actions to affect social policy change regarding basic income guarantee and related measures to guide the efforts of activists and public intellectuals in the 2020 and 2024 election cycles.

1. Introduction: Global Political Activism and Campaigns on Universal Basic Income.- 2. Disagree to Agree: Forming Consensus around Basic Income in Times of Political Divisiveness.- 3. Is Democracy Fit for Basic Income? Towards a Hybrid Income Guarantee for Future Generations.- 4. Basic Income Does Not Threaten Labor Markets.- 5. The Role of Media in the Basic Income Movement.- 6. Advocacy for a Universal Basic Income for the United States: My Story.- 7. The USA’s Modern Civil Rights Movement and Basic Income Guarantee.- 8. Basic Income Advocacy in Canada: Multiple Streams, Experiments and the Road Ahead.- 9. UBI Activism and Advocacy in Australia.- 10. Research and Education in the UK Basic Income Debate.- 11. From Marginal Idea to Contested Alternative: Recent Developments and Main Arguments in the German Debate.- 12. Universal Basic Income Activism in Switzerland and Austria.- 13. Basic Income Activism in South Africa, 1997-2019.- 14. From Trials to Election Promises: The Politics of Basic Income in India.