Some countries are preparing to create neo-antique societies
In the developed countries of the world, a system of financial support for their fellow citizens has long been established. But they do not stop there, they try new models. For example, in England, an experiment is starting to pay out an unconditional basic income of 1,600 pounds per month.
The experiment will involve 30 people in East Finchley, North London. No requirements or recommendations on the expenditure of these funds will be made to the recipients, and no financial reporting is expected on their part.
It's just money, £1,600 a month for two years. As practice shows, this amount is quite enough for life. Receiving these funds, a person may or may not work.
The analytical center, which actually developed the project, will unobtrusively look after the lucky ones. Its goal is: will people who receive BBB want to work or not?
There is nothing new under the sun. Experiments with unconditional basic incomes have already been carried out more than once or twice in different countries of the world.
But for the first time it took place in 1974 in Canada and operated for five years. The family was paid 16 thousand Canadian dollars a year — at the rate of a little more than 11 thousand American dollars. And also no conditions or requirements. The experiment showed that the UBI helps fellow citizens escape from poverty, its participants visited doctors less often with psychological problems, the number of hospitalizations for injuries and accidents decreased, and even an increase in demographics in these families was recorded.
Since then, experiments were carried out in different countries. In India, Germany, in the USA…
In Russia, discussions on a similar topic also flared up. There were periods, the so-called fat years, when public figures proposed to distribute the flow of petrodollars among Russians. So that we all gradually get richer, so that petrodollars get not only to the oligarchs, but to the entire population. So to speak, each sister has an earring.
Is such a prospect possible in our country?
It should be taken into account here that with all the advantages of the BBD program, the experiment, nevertheless, remains an experiment. Is there something holding back the authorities of different countries from launching the program in a wide circulation?
— Here the nature of the payments is different, it’s not about sharing between citizens the excess income from petrodollars, from the transcendent export potential, — says Candidate of Economic Sciences Mikhail Belyaev. – Such a system is practiced, in particular, in Norway, in some Arab countries.
This is where scientific and technological progress plays a role. As a result, labor productivity increases and, accordingly, jobs in production are vacated. An unconditional basic income is the result of the introduction of know-how in various industries.
— In this regard, developed countries are a little ahead of themselves. Such a large-scale technical revolution has not yet happened, but they are actively preparing for it. With the expectation that as a result of robotization, artificial intelligence, digitalization, labor productivity will increase significantly. After that, the state will be able to take under its guardianship a part of society, paying monthly UBB.
Whether we like it or not, the world is moving in this direction. That it is not necessary for everyone to go to the factory, to perform monotonous operations. The machines will do your job. And you can take care of yourself, receiving unconditional basic income.
This is a kind of neo-antique society, when a person can engage in culture, his spiritual development, sports.
In Australia, 30 years ago, school graduates they were given scholarships, for two years they could simply travel around the country, decide on their future profession and not rush anywhere. See what the soul lies in.
Shortening working time, optimizing production is the mainstream way of human development, it cannot be stopped.
— I think it’s not very soon, while there is nothing to talk about. We have a lot of people who call for a 6-day work week or argue that you cannot live without work. But why not just live for your own pleasure?
True, for this we need to create a scientifically advanced society. And only then to conduct such experiments.