Redesigning Distribution

Volume V in the acclaimed Real Utopias Project series, edited by Erik Olin Wright.

Are there ways that contemporary capitalism can be rendered a dramatically more egalitarian economic system without destroying its productivity and capacity for growth?

This book explores two proposals, unconditional basic income and stakeholder grants, that attempt just that. In a system of basic income, as elaborated by Philippe van Parijs, all citizens are given a monthly stipend sufficient to provide them with a no-frills but adequate standard of living. This monthly income is universal rather than means-tested, and it is unconditional — receiving the basic income does not depend upon performing any labor services or satisfying other conditions. It affirms the idea that as a matter of basic… Keep Reading