What is UBI?#
In recent years, with the development of artificial intelligence, digitalization, and automation, traditional employment forms are undergoing significant changes. The social security systems that relied on stable jobs are increasingly struggling to cope with new social risks. Against this backdrop, a seemingly simple idea that could potentially disrupt the entire welfare system has re-entered public view: Universal Basic Income (UBI).
What is Universal Basic Income?#
Universal Basic Income, as the name suggests, is a regular, unconditional cash payment from the government to everyone. This money is not relief, nor does it require you to have a job or tax record. Everyone can receive it, regardless of wealth, unemployment status, or income. This concept can be traced back to the 18th century, but it has sparked global discussions in recent decades.
UBI has several key characteristics:
- Regular payments: Usually issued monthly;
- Cash payments: Not in kind, nor in vouchers that can only be used for specific items;
- Individual-focused: Rather than based on family units;
- Universal coverage: Regardless of income or assets;
- No additional conditions: No requirement to work or apply.
In simple terms, it is characterized by "three nos": no investigation, no thresholds, no attached obligations.
Comparison of Three Social Security Models#
1. Social Assistance#
Social assistance originates from charity and aims to provide emergency relief, such as minimum living guarantees for the poor. However, applying for it usually requires investigating family income, willingness to work, etc., making the process complex and often leading to a "shame of poverty."
2. Social Insurance#
Examples include pension insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance, which typically require you to pay premiums and are linked to formal employment. This is not very friendly to low-income groups without stable jobs, temporary workers, and freelancers.
3. Universal Basic Income#
The biggest difference with UBI is that it is decoupled from employment. Everyone is eligible to receive it, no longer needing to work for income. It does not replace assistance or insurance but may serve as a third pillar to supplement the existing system, and in some cases, replace parts of the welfare system.
Why is Universal Basic Income Needed Now?#
1. Automation Replacing Jobs#
Robots and AI are replacing a large amount of repetitive labor, leading to a decrease in traditional job opportunities. Without work, it is difficult to sustain a living on wages. UBI can become a "safety net" in the technological era.
2. Complex and Inefficient Welfare Systems#
Current welfare systems often require complex reviews, bureaucratic processes, and various thresholds, which can lead to gaps in coverage or miscoverage. UBI has a simple structure, is more efficient, and can reduce administrative costs.
3. Eliminating Stigma and Enhancing Dignity#
Poor people applying for social assistance are often viewed as "lazy" or "failures," whereas UBI is available to everyone, avoiding this stigmatization and giving everyone more dignity.
Three Reasons to Support Universal Basic Income#
1. Philosophical Reason: Freedom Rights#
The core idea of UBI is "real freedom." It is not about your right to work, but your freedom not to work; not just about surviving, but about having the freedom to choose your way of life.
2. Ideological Reason: Reforming Capitalism#
Capitalism overly relies on labor for income; UBI is expected to allow income to no longer be solely derived from "selling time," thereby liberating human resources and supporting low-paid but valuable work, such as childcare, volunteer service, and artistic creation.
3. Practical Reason: Responding to Changes in the Digital Society#
In emerging industries, flexible employment and increasing uncertainty, UBI may become a modern solution to ensure a safety net, preventing technology from exacerbating wealth disparities.
Can UBI Be Implemented?#
In theory, UBI is ideal. However, in practice, it faces numerous challenges:
- Financial burden: Where will the money come from?
- Institutional restructuring: How to connect with existing assistance and insurance systems?
- Social acceptance: Will people think it encourages "laziness"?
- Fair design: How will standards be set? Will it exclude certain marginalized groups?
Even so, several countries and cities around the world have already conducted UBI experiments, such as Finland, the Netherlands, Canada, and Japan. Although these pilot programs are small in scale, they are significant for understanding its effects.
Implications for China#
With China's aging population, changes in employment structure, and the rise of platform and gig economies, the existing social security system also faces enormous challenges. Although UBI is currently a theoretical discussion in China, in the long run, it may be one of the directions for the evolution of future social policies.
Especially during major crises (such as the COVID-19 pandemic), the government has experimented with direct cash payments to stabilize society, testing this concept. In the future, we may see a more diverse, inclusive, and flexible social security system, with UBI being one option worth serious consideration.
Universal Basic Income is not as simple as "free money"; it is a systematic solution that responds to social changes and reconstructs distribution justice. Its core is not about replacing anything but rather about supplementing and evolving. Regardless of whether it can be fully implemented in the end, it has already become an unavoidable key issue in global social policy discussions.
Citation: China Social Security Society