Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Chapter 4 (Draft): John Locke And The Hobbesian Hypothesis: How A Very Similar Colonial Prejudice Found Its Way Into The Natural Rights Justification Of Private Property, Karl Widerquist, Grant Mccall

Karl Widerquist

This chapter is a preliminary draft of Chapter 4 of the book, "Prehistoric Myths in Modern Political Philosophy." The role of this chapter is to show that what we call "the Hobbesian Hypothesis" is an essential premise in John Locke's justification of private property. The Hobbesian hypothesis, in this context, is the claim that everyone is better off in a society with private land and resource ownership (even if they own no land or resources) than they could reasonably except to be in a society in which these resources remained unowned and people lived as hunter-gatherers. This chapter does not …

Chapter 3 (Draft) The Hobbesian Hypothesis: How A Colonial Prejudice Became An Essential Premise In The Most Popular Justification Of Government, Karl Widerquist, Grant Mccall

Karl Widerquist

This chapter is a draft of Chapter Three of the book that Grant McCall and I are writing. The book is called, "Prehistoric Myths in Modern Political Philosophy." This chapter shows now Hobbes introduce an empirical claim into his most influential justification of the state. We call this claim the Hobbesian hypothesis: everyone is better off under the authority of a sovereign government than everyone would be outside of that authority. The chapter argue that this hypothesis is a strong, counterfactual, empirical claim about people in small-scale stateless societies that has not been well-established by empirical evidence.

The Piketty Observation Against The Institutional Background: How Natural Is This Natural Tendency And What Can We Do About It?, Karl Widerquist

Karl Widerquist

Chapters 1-2 (Drafts) Of Prehistoric Myths In Modern Political Philosophy: Chapter 1-2, Karl Widerquist, Grant Mccall

Karl Widerquist

These two chapters are early and very preliminary drafts of the first to chapters of the book, "Prehistoric Myths in Modern Political Philosophy." The first chapter sets up what we are trying to do with this research project and previews our findings. The basic argument of the book is that political philosophers make dubious claims about prehistory in theor theories. These claims are poorly (if at all) research even though they are essential premises in many important political theories. The role of the book is both to show that these claims are necessary to support the arguments in influential political …

The People’S Endowment, Karl Widerquist

Karl Widerquist

The Evolution Of Equality: Rethinking Variability And Egalitarianism Among Modern Forager Societies, Grant Mccall, Karl Widerquist

Karl Widerquist

Myths About The State Of Nature And The Reality Of Stateless Societies, Karl Widerquist, Grant Mccall

Karl Widerquist

The Big Casino, Karl Widerquist

Karl Widerquist

This paper uses an analogy to illustrate two things: (1) the economy is and will always be a casino, and (2) in existing societies and most libertarian, liberal, and socialist visions of society individuals are effectively forced to participate in the casino economy. It argues justice requires that individuals must be free from forced participation in such an economy and that the best way to free people from forced participation is the provision of a Basic Income Guarantee.

The Basic Income Grant As Social Safety Net For Namibia: Experience And Lessons From Around The World, Karl Widerquist

Karl Widerquist

This paper discusses strategies for providing a social safety net and argues that the Basic Income Grant (BIG) is the best way forward for Namibia. BIG is a regular, unconditional income given to all individuals as a right of citizenship. This paper draws on international experience from countries (such as the United States, Brazil, India, Kenya, and others) that have experimented with BIG or employed some form of cash transfer. It compares these experiences with the more traditional targeted approach, in which recipients are required to work unless they can show they are unable to work or unable to find …

Is Basic Income Still Worth Talking About?, Karl Widerquist

Karl Widerquist

Universal Basic Income (UBI) is the hugely ambitious policy of granting a small income to every person, unconditionally as a right of citizenship. Usually, a “full” UBI is considered to be enough to meet basic needs, while anything less is a “partial” UBI (USBIG Network 2011). In the post-financial crisis days of austerity, cutbacks, and retrenchment it might seem that such a policy is too ambitious to be worth discussing in the current political climate, especially in the United States. But this chapter will argue that UBI is (and should be) an important part of the political dialogue today. Part …

The Basic Income Guarantee In The United States: Past Experience, Current Proposals, Karl Widerquist, Allan Sheahen

Karl Widerquist

No abstract provided.

Chapter X: Bibliography, Karl Widerquist

Karl Widerquist

No abstract provided.

The Alaska Model As A Menu Of Options, Karl Widerquist, Michael W. Howard

Karl Widerquist

No abstract provided.

Chapter 3: Forty Acres And A Mule? Implications Of The Duty To Respect Person Independence, Karl Widerquist

Karl Widerquist

No abstract provided.

A Permanent Endowment For The United States, Karl Widerquist

Karl Widerquist

This is a chapter from the book, "Exporting the Alaska Model." The chapter argues that the United States can create a permanent resource-based endowment that could finance both a substantial dividend (in the form of an unconditional basic income) and a significant portion of government spending, perhaps nearly all government spending. It argues why endowment financing is a more progressive alternative to the more traditional approach of taxation and regulation.

Chapter 7: What Good Is A Theory Of Freedom That Allows Forced Labor? Independence And Modern Theories Of Freedom, Karl Widerquist

Karl Widerquist

No abstract provided.

Chapter 4: The Importance Of Independence I: Framing The Issue, Karl Widerquist

Karl Widerquist

No abstract provided.

Citizens’ Capital Accounts: A Proposal, Karl Widerquist

Karl Widerquist

This chapter proposes a personalized version of Alaska’s Permanent Fund (APF) and Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) system, called “Citizens’ Capital Accounts” (CCAs), which will combine some of the benefits of Basic Income and Stakeholder Grants. CCAs make for a more flexible and meaningful use of revenue than an equal-sized Basic Income, resource dividend, or Stakeholder grant.

Chapter 9: On Duty, Karl Widerquist

Karl Widerquist

No abstract provided.

Chapter 8: If You're An Egalitarian, Why Do You Want To Be The Boss Of The Poor? Independence And Liberal-Egalitarian Theories Of Justice, Karl Widerquist

Karl Widerquist

No abstract provided.

Chapter 5: The Importance Of Independence Ii: Freedom An Integrity, Karl Widerquist

Karl Widerquist

No abstract provided.

Chapter 6: The Importance Of Independence Iii: Market Vulnerability, Karl Widerquist

Karl Widerquist

No abstract provided.

Chapter 0: Prologue, Karl Widerquist

Karl Widerquist

No abstract provided.

Chapter 2: Status Freedom As Effective Control Self-Ownership, Karl Widerquist

Karl Widerquist

No abstract provided.

Chapter X10: Conclusion, Karl Widerquist

Karl Widerquist

No abstract provided.

A Day-Long Discussion Of “The Alaska Model” At The University Of Alaska-Anchorage, Karl Widerquist

Karl Widerquist

On April 22, 2011, I had the privilege of attending a conference at the University of Alaska-Anchorage discussing the book, Exporting the Alaska Model: How the Permanent Fund Dividend Can Be Adapted as Model for Reform Around the World. The book is edited by Michael W. Howard and me. It is due out early next year on Palgrave-MacMillan. This is my personal account of a conference held on Friday, April 22, 2011 at the Institute of Social and Economic Research at the University of Alaska

Why We Demand An Unconditional Basic Income: The Ecso Freedom Case, Karl Widerquist

Karl Widerquist

Philippe Van Parijs’s (1995) Real Freedom for All: What (If Anything) Can Justify Capitalism makes a very thorough and challenging philosophical argument for basic income. But I believe that it has two important limitations that inhibit it from giving a compelling explanation why basic income supporters believe that support for the disadvantage must be not only universal but also unconditional and enough to meet an individual’s basic needs. This essay briefly discusses those limitations and then proposes an alternative argument for basic income that I believe relies on a more compelling concept of freedom, defined below as “Freedom as Effective …

Two Memoirs Tell The History Of The Alaska Dividend, Karl Widerquist

Karl Widerquist

Alaska’s Permanent Fund Dividend is closer to a basic income than almost any other policy in the world today. The lessons of how it was created and how it became so popular and successful are extremely important to the basic income movement. Two autobiographies available now tell different parts of the story of the Alaska Dividend. One is by Jay Hammond, the governor who, more than anyone else, is responsible for creating the fund and dividend. The other is by Dave Rose, the first executive director of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation. This review essay draws lessons for the basic …

How The Sufficiency Minimum Becomes A Social Maximum, Karl Widerquist

Karl Widerquist

This article argues that, under likely empirical conditions, sufficientarianism leads not to an easily achievable duty to maintain a social minimum but to the onerous duty of maintaining a social maximum at the sufficiency level. This happens because sufficientarians ask us to give no weight at all to small benefits for people above the sufficiency level if the alternative is to relieve the suffering of people below it. If we apply this judgment in a world where there are rare diseases and hard-to-prevent accidents that cause people to fall below the sufficiency threshold, all of our discretionary spending will have …

Lockean Theories Of Property: Justifications For Unilateral Appropriation, Karl Widerquist

Karl Widerquist

Although John Locke’s theory of appropriation is undoubtedly influential, no one seems to agree about exactly what he was trying to say. It is unlikely that someone will write the interpretation that effectively ends the controversy. Instead of trying to find the one definitive interpretation of Locke’s property theory, this article attempts to identify the range of reasonable interpretations and extensions of Lockean property theory that exist in the contemporary literature with an emphasis on his argument for unilateral appropriation. It goes through Locke’s argument point-by-point discussing the controversy over what he said and over what he perhaps should have …