ABSTRACT
Universal basic services (UBS) describes a set of proposals for achieving universal access to life’s essentials within planetary boundaries. The component terms can be defined as follows:
Services: Collectively generated activities that serve the public interest
Basic: Services that are essential and sufficient – rather than minimal – to enable people to meet their needs
Universal: Everyone is entitled to such basic services according to need, not ability to pay.
An inherent normative assumption is that governments should ensure that every individual has access to the core necessities that make life possible and worth living. The concept has emerged in the Global North, though its influence is spreading globally.