Speaking as someone with a million things they want to work on, but who has been bouncing off the edge of burnout since early 2020, the new “UBI doesn’t mean people will stop working, they’ll just work on what they want to” talking point is just so very, very exhausting.
If someone needs (or hell, wants) to take a UBI benefit and use it to pay bills while they sleep 14 hours a day and do nothing else because the demands of capitalism have destroyed their brains, that should be fine too. UBI should not be an excuse to perpetuate hustle culture.
You won’t convince UBI opponents that it should exist by saying “don’t worry, productivity won’t suffer”, because even if it’s true, it will end up in the same bin as every other piece of evidence that it’s good for people (not the economy, PEOPLE; these two words are not interchangeable), as opposition is not rooted in reasoned arguments to begin with.
@alahmnat
In Library Socialism the notion of Irreducible Minimum (once we understood it) really spoke to husband and me.
My Library Socialism sources say similar concepts are featured in historic and modern Indigenous cultures.
If @beep doesn't cite Irreducible Minimum directly, he describes essentially that when talking about union members having union protection (I guess with dues paid) but no other expectation.
Learning these (recently) has strengthened my belief in UBI.
@alahmnat
I was once on the fence / ambivalent about UBI. I don't know if these would help reach someone who was in oppostion (but open minded) or if they need to be moved closer to where I eventually got to on my own which was already pretty receptive to the idea of mutual aid, reperations, redistribution of wealth, etc..
Sharing in case it helps, but not trying to offer advice.
@alahmnat Evidence is optional. It has been proven for years that productivity goes up in remote working environments, long before COVID, yet we have mandatory return to the office. So even if it is good for both people AND the economy, it still doesn't mean companies will implement it.
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