ABSTRACT
This chapter describes anarchism and argues that property rights are at least partly conventional, and that anarchists should be concerned about the non-consensual enforcement of property conventions that exceed the protection of people’s natural property rights. It shows that a basic income is one way to compensate people for the enforcement of property conventions. A basic income could provide people with the assurance that their natural rights will be protected to a greater extent than existing property conventions do, and it would make space for people to live in society while avoiding the persistent threats from public officials that people in poverty face. If people consented to the enforcement of a set of property conventions, then it would be permissible for public officials to enforce those property conventions. A more serious objection, from an anarchist’s perspective, is that a basic income policy is incompatible with open borders and the moral demands of global justice.
