Basic income and the problem of cumulative misfortune

Date
2006
Authors
Wigley, S.
Advisor
Instructor
Source Title
Basic Income Studies
Print ISSN
1932-0183
Electronic ISSN
Publisher
Walter de Gruyter GmbH
Volume
1
Issue
2
Pages
1 - 17
Language
English
Type
Article
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Abstract

This paper defends a regularly paid basic income as being better equipped to tackle unfair inequalities of outcome. It is argued that the timing of "option-luck" failures – in particular, whether they occur early in a lifetime of calculated gambles, and whether they are clustered together – may lead to a form of "brute bad luck," referred to as "cumulative misfortune." A basic income that is paid on a regular basis provides a way to prevent the emergence of cumulative misfortune, because the basic income at least partially replenishes the individual's ability to take the next calculated gamble. The upshot of this is a nonpaternalistic justification for an unconditional basic income that is paid regularly and is nonmortgageable. This has an important bearing on the debate between those who advocate a one-off endowment at the start of adult life and those who advocate a basic income paid regularly throughout one's life. The paper contends that a regular basic income represents a superior social policy because it prevents the emergence of cumulative misfortune, rather than belatedly attempting to compensate for its effects during our senior years.

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Other identifiers
Book Title
Keywords
Basic endowment, Brute luck, Cumulative misfortune, Option luck, Paternalism, Regular basic income
Citation
Published Version (Please cite this version)