Redesigning Distribution Pa

Volume V in the acclaimed Real Utopias Project series, edited by Erik OlinWright.Are there ways that contemporary capitalism can be rendered a dramaticallymore egalitarian economic system without destroying its productivity andcapacity for growth?This book explores two proposals, unconditional basic income and stakeholdergrants, that attempt just that. In a system of basic income, as elaborated byPhilippe van Parijs, all citizens are given a monthly stipend sufficient toprovide them with a no-frills but adequate standard of living. This monthlyincome is universal rather than means-tested, and it is unconditional '”receiving the basic income does not depend upon performing any labor servicesor satisfying other conditions. It affirms the idea that as a matter of basicrights, no one should live in poverty in an affluent society. In a system ofstakeholder grants, as discussed by Bruce Ackerman and Anne Alstott, allcitizens upon reaching the age of early adulthood receive a substantialone-time lump-sum grant sufficiently large so that all young adults would besignificant wealth holders. Ackerman and Alstott propose that this grant be inthe vicinity of $80,000 and be financed by an annual wealth tax of roughly 2percent. A system of stakeholder grants, they argue, "expresses afundamental responsibility: every American has an obligation to contribute to afair starting point for all."

Guy Standing is director of the Socio-Economic Programme of the International Labour Organisation. He directed the ILO’s technical programme in Eastern Europe in the early 1990s and was an advisor to the South African government in 1995–96. He has written extensively on labour market and social policy issues.

Erik Olin Wright is Vilas Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin. He is the author of many books, including Classes, Interrogating Inequality, Class Counts, Deepening Democracy (with Archon Fung), and Envisioning Real Utopias. For more information on Envisioning Real Utopias and the Real Utopias project, and to access book content, please visit <a href="http://realutopias.org/">realutopias.org</a> (site in progress).