Why left reciprocity theories are inconsistent

The reciprocity objection is one of the most widespread criticisms against Basic Income (BI). In this article I challenge the consistency between the reciprocity principle and the preferred policy options of left reciprocity theorists. I argue that any consistent policy design for a reciprocity theo...

ver descrição completa

Detalhes bibliográficos
Autor: Noguera, Jose A|||0000-0003-0263-8908
Formato: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2007
País:España
Recursos:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:273878
Acesso em linha:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/273878
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.2202/1932-0183.1056
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Basic income
Distributive justice
Reciprocity
Right to work
Social benefits
Workfare
Descrição
Resumo:The reciprocity objection is one of the most widespread criticisms against Basic Income (BI). In this article I challenge the consistency between the reciprocity principle and the preferred policy options of left reciprocity theorists. I argue that any consistent policy design for a reciprocity theory should satisfy two conditions: 1. Everyone who benefits from social resources contributes relevantly (reciprocally) to society's efforts; and 2. Everyone who contributes relevantly to society benefits from social resources. BI is accused by reciprocity theorists of failing to satisfy Condition 1. But, surprisingly, their preferred policy pack also fails to satisfy Condition 1, and seems badly prepared to satisfy Condition 2. Significantly, left reciprocity theorists reject those options that would satisfy both conditions. I suggest that other normative values and intuitions may explain that inconsistency and indicate that the reciprocity objection to BI is wrong for principled reasons.