The Ongoing Debate: Universal Basic Income and Social Justice

This essay examines the contemporary debate surrounding Universal Basic Income (UBI) and its implications for social justice. It begins by highlighting the importance of income for survival in a capitalist society and the challenges posed by technological advancements and automation leading to potential job losses. The essay presents arguments in favor of UBI, emphasizing its role in guaranteeing a basic income for those without employment. However, it also explores counterarguments, such as the perspective that UBI may not solve income inequality and that alternative solutions like asset distribution might be more effective. The essay references key sources like Yang (2019) and Rushkoff (2019), and concludes by observing that some form of distributive justice, whether through UBI or wealth distribution, is crucial for maintaining social justice in society.

Running head: THE DEBATE ON UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME
The Debate on Universal Basic Income
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Author Note

1THE DEBATE ON UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME
Income is important for the survival of the people in the contemporary times as it is the
money which allows them to purchase the basic necessities of life. However, in the capitalist
structuring of the world, the aspect of competition is in prevalence which leads to the people
competing with each other in order to earn higher income. This results in many people being
without the minimal income which affects their survival capacity. As a consequence, there is a
great support for the implementation of Universal Basic Income.
The current time period is experiencing a huge shift towards technological innovation.
While this is necessary for the growth and development of the human civilization. It also has its
adverse impacts in the form of loss of employment. The increasing population of the world has
been able to sustain itself as a result of the available jobs in the various industries. However, with
the rise in automation and digitations, the need for human labor has been decreasing. Thus,
according to Yang (2019), there is a need for Universal basic Income so that the people without
employment are guaranteed some amount of income so that they would be able to sustain
themselves.
However, Rushkoff (2019), on the other hand argued that Universal Basic Income would
not be able to solve the problem of income inequality. Instead, the poor people should be given
some basic assets to own so that they would be able to compete with the rich people of the
country. The assets would be able to give production to the people while income would be spend
by the people without generating any production.
In conclusion it is observed that whether it is universal basic income or wealth, some
amount of help in the form of distributive justice needs to be given for maintaining the social
justice in the society.

2THE DEBATE ON UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME
References:
Andrew Yang: Universal Basic Income Solves The Problems That Got Donald Trump Elected.
(2019). Realclearpolitics.com.
Douglas Rushkoff :: Documentary Films. (2019). Rushkoff.