ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the defending proposals particularly with respect to how they intersect with working life, and seeks to defend them against two primary concerns: universal basic would undermine motivation to work, and providing a universal basic income conflicts with a social duty to work. It reviews the many advantages of a universal basic income, and also looks at outstanding issues concerning work, including lingering issues of who will do the bad work that is integral in social functioning, if everyone enjoys an income that is not conditional upon willingness to work. A basic income would not only ameliorate problems of poverty and hunger that persist even amid affluence, but lessen social problems that are consequent to poverty, such as ill health, exploitation, violence, and lack of real opportunity for education. Proponents of a universal basic income do face the question of how communities will motivate people to work, if people enjoy an income sufficient for a decent life.
