The Future of Capitalism: Money for Everyone? - POL00063H

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Module summary

Following a Swiss referendum in 2016, the topic of basic income reform – giving all citizens a right to a regular income grant - has been making waves in political debates about post-crisis reform of the state and economy. This module looks at why a wide range of political actors, from global development agencies and platform capitalists, to green and radical left thinkers and parties, have endorsed the idea, as well as critics’ argument that basic income could be a threat to solidarity in a fracturing society. We look at debates about basic income through time, and its present role in relation to poverty, the welfare state, and austerity.

Module will run

Occurrence	Teaching period
A	Semester 1 2025-26

Module aims

This module introduces students to the debate about basic income, as idea and public policy reform. Students are also engaged to reflect on the politics of basic income, its connection with capitalist modernity, Fascism, neo-liberalism, anti-poverty policy, populism, the welfare state, and democracy. The module aims to engage students to critically assess basic income as a contested proposal, historically and today, using an inter-disciplinary approach. The basic income proposal and writing about it through the ages is used as a window into wider political debates and problems. Students are first introduced to the contemporary spike in global debate about basic income after 2016, and to reflect on what is at play here: a winning idea, an altered global context, or changes within the state? Students are exposed to different theories of basic income, through the lenses of neo-liberalism, left-libertarianism, human development, and democratisation. Students are exposed to the recent periodisation of basic income debate, through the birth of capitalism, inter-war debates, and contemporary connections with varieties of capitalism, development, and austerity and welfare reform. The module will culminate in an engagement with the contemporary discussion of basic income ‘experiments’ around the world.

Module learning outcomes

Students will develop their powers of inter-disciplinary and comparative reasoning. They will be challenged to understand the contextualisation of political ideas within political economy across time and place. They will develop comprehensive knowledge of a key political idea of our time, and be enabled to trace its origins in both historical development and political and social theory. They will be challenged to engage independently in the debate about basic income, in testing out left libertarian v, other approaches to basic income in the context of concrete policy settings. Students will be tested to apply the comparative method in contrasting debates about basic income in different capitalist settings. Student will be encouraged to discuss basic income in the empirical context of contemporary welfare states, particularly in relation to welfare and state reform policies. Students will learn to communicate effectively in engaging problem-oriented arguments, through both oral presentation, short opinion pieces, and conventional scholarly writing.

Indicative assessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	100.0

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	100.0

Module feedback

Students will receive written timely feedback on their formative assessment. They will also have the opportunity to discuss their feedback during the module tutor’s feedback and guidance hours.

Students will receive written feedback on their summative assessment no later than 25 working days; and the module tutor will hold a specific session to discuss feedback, which students can also opt to attend. They will also have the opportunity to discuss their feedback during the module tutor’s regular feedback and guidance hours.

Indicative reading

Week 2 – Basic Income as a Political Idea of our Time

Week 3 – Basic Income and Capitalist Modernity

Week 4 – Basic Income and Utopia – liberal ideas of Autonomy and Laziness

Week 5 – Basic Income and Libertarianism

Week 5 – Basic Income and the Welfare State

Week 6 – Basic Income and Development – a better Anti-Poverty Policy?

Week 7 – Basic Income and Austerity

Week 8 – Basic Income, Human Development, and Democratisation

Week 9 – 2016 – 2018 the years of the Experiments