Universal Basic Income advocates Simon Lewis and Mark Maslin believe that humans can still mitigate the effects of increasing production and consumption.
In their book Human Planet, scientists Lewis and Marlin wrote that the presently human-dominated era called Anthropocene impacted the Earth in ways that are difficult to reverse. They argued that one way to mitigate Earth's deterioration is to give every citizen a compensation that will cover their subsistence needs.
Under a universal basic income society, citizens are not obligated to work, although small-scale trials showed that most people would still work even if they are given financial payments. Lewis and Marlin said that the principles of universal basic income will break the connection between production and consumption.
"With UBI we could all think long-term, well beyond the next payday. We could care for ourselves, others, and the wider world, as living in the Anthropocene demands," Lewis and Maslin wrote in an article published in The Guardian.
Curbing Environmental Damages Through Half-Earth
Lewis and Maslin presented another potential solution to repair environmental damages. The idea called Half-Earth pertains to allocating half the resources of the planet to human consumption. The other half shall be preserved and restored.
In the process called rewilding, natural processes of healing and restoration are allowed to take place. Lewis and Maslin said that as soon as humans in the Anthropocene period acknowledge that they are a part of nature, the process of rewilding shall follow through.
Experiment On Universal Basic Income
The local government of Stockton in California is trying out a social experiment on universal basic income that will start in 2019. The program will give $500 a month to 100 residents. Mayor Michael Tubbs said they are seeking for a financial support from Chris Hughes, Facebook co-founder, who said he wanted to expand the program nationally.
Supporters of universal basic income, especially those from Silicon Valley, said automation and artificial intelligence will eventually put people out of work.
"Work does have some value and some dignity," Tubbs said in an interview. "But I don't think working 14 hours and not being able to pay your bills, or working two jobs and not being able - there's nothing inherently dignified about that."
To make universal basic income possible, companies should be run largely by machines. Robot-to-worker ratios in factories around the world are increasing rapidly. In Korea, there are 4.78 robots for every 100 workers while Japan has 3.14. This amounts to a global average of 0.66 robots per 100 employees.
Success Stories Of Universal Basic Income
Alaska has been implementing its own version of universal basic income in a program called Permanent Fund Dividend. Since its implementation in 1982, spending and saving have consistently increased by the time the dividends are distributed to the citizens. Poverty rates among Native Americans decreased from 25 percent to 19 percent in 1990.
In Alaska, the amount given to the citizens vary because funds from the Alaska Permanent Fund move based on market fluctuations.
A village in Namibia also benefitted in a program called Basic Income Grant Coalition, where every resident is given a monthly income. Since its implementation in 2008, the village has reported lower crime and poverty rates. The population of malnourished children also dropped to 10 percent, and more people met their average earned income outside the program.
