In part because of the fear that the balance of forces in certain societies, such as India, mean that basic income could only be introduced at the expense of public services, particularly in the context of austerity; in part because of the embrace by some conservative forces of the idea of basic income; and perhaps some feel it would compromise the focus on full employment. [...] These factors mitigating against the African working class establishing sustainable livelihoods include: financialisation and deindustrialisation of the economy; landlessness and the lack of a vibrant peasant economy; the small size of our informal economy; and the historical marginalisation of working class rural and urban communities from the economic centres, as a result of apartheid planning. [...] The impact of a UBIG combined with the national minimum wage, and access to affordable public services, could be revolutionary in raising the income and living standards of the poorest 50% of the population. [...] Nevertheless the campaign had an important impact in broadening the social security net, extending the CSG to 18 year olds (at the time of the Job Summit it only reached children up to 7), and putting the restructuring of social security on the agenda. [...] But the dynamic and changing nature of capitalism, and the impact of its growing crises particularly on the working class in the global South, as well as the central importance of the care economy thrown up so sharply during the Covid crisis, are forcing a reassessment of this perspective.
Authors
- Pages
- 6
- Published in
- South Africa
