In the Balance (eBook)

The Case for a Universal Basic Income in South Africa and Beyond

Hein Marais (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2022
308 Seiten
Wits University Press (Verlag)
978-1-77614-774-8 (ISBN)

Infos

This timeous book presents a compelling analysis of the need, conditions and possibilities for a universal basic income (UBI) in South Africa and globally. It explores the vexing questions a UBI raises about the relationship of paid work to social rights, and about the role of the state in contemporary capitalism.

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As jobs disappear and wages flatline, paid work is an increasingly fragile basis for dignified life. This predicament, deepened by the COVID-19 pandemic, is sparking urgent debates about alternatives such as a universal basic income (UBI). In this incisive new book, Hein Marais casts the debate about a UBI in the wider context of the dispossessing pressures of capitalism and the turmoil of global warming, pandemics and social upheaval. Marais surveys the meaning, history and appeal of a UBI before even-handedly weighing the case for and against it. The book explores the vexing questions a UBI raises about the relationship of paid work to social rights, about prevailing notions of entitlement and dependency, and about the role of the state in contemporary capitalism. Along with cost estimates for different versions of a basic income in South Africa, it discusses financing options and lays out the social, economic and political implications. Highly topical and distinctive in its approach, In the Balance: The Case for a Universal Basic Income in South Africa and Beyond is the most rounded and up-to-date examination yet of the need and prospects for a UBI in a global South setting such as South Africa. As jobs disappear and wages flat-line, paid work is an increasingly fragile and unattainable basis for dignified life. This predicament, deepened by the COVID-19 pandemic, is sparking urgent debates about alternatives such as a universal basic income (UBI). Highly topical and distinctive in its approach, In the Balance: The Case for a Universal Basic Income in South Africa and Beyond is the most rounded and up-to-date examination yet of the need and prospects for a UBI in a global South setting such as South Africa. Hein Marais casts the debate about a UBI in the wider context of the dispossessing pressures of capitalism and the onrushing turmoil of global warming, pandemics and social upheaval. Marais surveys the meaning, history and appeal of a UBI before even-handedly weighing the case for and against such an intervention. The book explores the vexing questions a UBI raises about the relationship of paid work to social rights, about prevailing notions of entitlement and dependency, and the role of the state in contemporary capitalism. Along with cost estimates for different versions of a basic income in South Africa, it discusses financing options and lays out the social, economic and political implications. This incisive new book advances both our theoretical and practical understanding of the prospects for a UBI.

Inhalt

Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1 Behind the idea of a universal basic income Chapter 2 The crisis of waged work Chapter 3 The attractions of a universal basic income Chapter 4 Testing the arguments against Chapter 5 Financing a universal basic income Chapter 6 The politics and economics of a universal basic income Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 1.7.2022
• Verlagsort: Johannesburg
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Beruf / Finanzen / Recht / Wirtschaft ► Geld / Bank / Börse
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Pädagogik
• ISBN-10: 1-77614-774-X / 177614774X
• ISBN-13: 978-1-77614-774-8 / 9781776147748