The new universalism-beyond the welfare state : reflections on an international conference

Abstract

Thomas Paine, in his essay Agrarian Justice, suggested a variety of welfare and progressive taxation proposals. These include cash grants, not means-tested, to those reaching early adulthood and retirement. Many-including both Martin Luther King, Jr., and the conservative economist Milton Friedman—have since made basic income proposals. The philosophy of universal basic income has supported a variety of concrete economic proposals which have converged into a political movement.