• The Ecological Basic Income
    in brief

    In the current discourse, the Unconditional Basic Income (UBI) is mainly propagated as an automation dividend, poverty prevention, downward redistribution, de-bureaucratisation, creativity promotion as well as a democracy-promoting participation guarantee. These qualities are undoubtedly important arguments. However, the ecological question and a discussion of the effect of a UBI for a socio-ecological transformation are largely missing in the debate so far.

    In this context, a basic income can set a process in motion in which the socially still dominant paradigm of productivism is pushed back. Productivism in this context means production as an end in itself: in order to maintain and create as many jobs as possible, economic growth is welcomed, hoped for and promoted. 

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  • Basic Income and Degrowth: Possible Relations

    Contribution to: FRIBIS Annual Conference
    October 2021

  • The Ecological Euro-Dividend: a Step towards Basic Income in Europe

    Contribution to: GEF (ed): European Green Perspectives on Basic Income
    August 2021

    ...
    A basic income in general and a Eurodividend in particular cannot only be financed by taxes on natural resources but also by taxing inheritance, wealth or capital transactions pertaining to the EU. But in a hypothetical scenario of an immediate introduction of a monthly € 200 Eurodividend for every EU citizen, this constitutes a large financial and also ideological step, which will likely meet a lot of political resistance. Therefore, I would like to present a proposal for a preliminary form of a European Basic Income: the European Transition Income (ETI) which is likely to meet less resistance.

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  • Ecological Basic Income: A Chance for both Green Growth and Degrowth

    Contribution to Great Transition Forum
    November 2020

    One criticism of the general idea of a basic income from an ecological point of view is that, with the larger mass purchasing-power especially from the less affluent, more environmentally damaging things will be bought and produced. In his opening piece, Guy Standing argues that the basic income can be financed partly with eco-taxes. Of course, this would avoid such harmful effects and, to the contrary, support ecological transition. For this to happen, a basic income should be financed by eco-taxes to a relevant share, thus becoming an Ecological Basic Income.

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  • Basic Income, Degrowth and Counter Hegemony
    Presentation at International Conference on Degrowth
    Vienna 2020 Online



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  • Ecological Euro Dividend. A Step to Basic Income in Europe

    Presentation at the
    Interdiscipinary Conference at University of Freiburg 2018

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  • Financing Euro Dividend with Eco Taxes

    Presentation at NOVUM Institut Conference
    Basic Income for Europe, Ljubljana 2017


     

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  • Green Basic Income Feeds Time Sovereignty Feeds Degrowth

    Presentation at UBIE European Conference
    Unconditional Basic Income and Degrowth, Hamburg 2016



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    Deutsche Version:
    Grünes Grundeinkonmmen: Zeitsouveränität für Lifestyles of Degrowth



  • Basic Income - an Acceleration Brake?

    Presentation at Kolleg Postwachstumsgesellschaften Conference
    Good Life Beyond Growth , Jena 2015



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  • Eco Euro Dividend - A Step to Basic Income in Europe
    Contribution to the UBIE Conference, Maribor 2015

    Most conceptions for financing an Unconditional Basic Income are based on the idea to take money from the ongoing public budgets and the public social system. This would mean a big jump: The present social welfare system with its historically generated balances of giving and taking would be changed suddenly into a completely new one. This is true for every European country. But the problem is even bigger if we want to change this social welfare system in the European Union as a whole. The welfare system schemes of the member states are different and even small harmonization steps are difficult to reach because of the various national wishes, fears and political situations.
    Another way to finance a Basic Income is to use eco taxes. The revenue of ecological fees on undesired consumption of resources or waste production (e.g. CO2, raw materials, land sealing, infiltration of nitrites) will be shared back equally to everyone. In other words: Every citizen, from baby to the elderly, from rich to poor, will be paid an “eco-bonus”, respectively an “Ecological Basic Income”. More


  • Basic Income is Time Wealth
    Contribution to the Blog: Calendarbygenb-time changes everything 2015


    Niko Paech is right. Time is our most important resource. An overkill of products, consumption and events is hindering us to use our time for the things we describe as really necessary for a “good life”: For contemplative and creative leisure, free development of personality, real friendships for example. Even the economist John M. Keynes expected for his great-grandchildren "economic possibilities“ to have a weekly working time of fifteen hours – space for the freed life beyond necessities. So what went wrong when most people today need two or three times of labour time?
    Niko Paech proposes half consumption and half gainful employment. Therewith he would nearly meet the vision from Keynes – when we talk about time. But Paech wants to use the freed 20 hours for subsistence: For the organisation of common use, maintenance and reparation as well as for own production. In this way everybody would become (more) independent from industrial production and from money. But to which kinds of new dependencies from communities and networks does this lead? This problem rises in case of work for low wages or in precarious self-employment. Then even more than 40 laborious working hours could be possible. More



  • Ecological Basic Income - an Acceleration Brake?
    Contribution to the Degrowth Conference, Leipzig 2014

    This article covers the idea of an ecologically financed basic income and thereby a concrete societal utopia. It is an answer to fundamental ecological and social problems of the economy and the culture of contemporary growth societies.
    The principles of an Ecological Basic Income (EBI) will first be explained, in order to work out how to lead previous environmental policies out of different dead-ends. An EBI could combine ecological taxes with redistribution of income and it could combine sufficiency with different lifestyle norms (I). But it’s not about a fancy method to avoid an inaccessibility of environmental policies any more. Rather, it has the tendency to oppose to a productivistic economy (II) as well as to a consumistic culture (III).
    Moreover, it can help to switch off the acceleration motors which are responsible for the ongoing social acceleration in modern societies following the theory of Hartmut Rosa (IV). Finally, it will be shown that an EBI is not only a potential brake for acceleration but is especially well-suited for a step-by-step implementation of the principle basic income itself. This means that there is a realistic way toward this utopia (V). More

    Presentation



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    Ökologisches Grundeinkommen - eine Beschleunigungsbremse?
    Beitrag zur Degrowth Konferenz, Leipzig 2014

    In diesem Beitrag geht es um die Idee eines ökologisch finanzierten Grundeinkommens und damit um eine konkrete gesellschaftliche Utopie. Sie ist eine Antwort auf wesentliche ökologische und soziale Probleme der Ökonomie und der Kultur zeitgenössischer Wachstumsgesellschaften.
    Ich werde zunächst das Prinzip eines ökologischen Grundeinkommens (ÖGE) erklären, um dann herauszuarbeiten, in welcher Weise es aus verschiedenen Sackgassen bisheriger Umweltpolitik herausführen kann. Ein ÖGE kombiniert ökologische Besteuerung mit Umverteilung von Einkommen und es kann Suffizienz mit der Vielfalt von Lebensstilen verknüpfen (I).
    Doch es handelt sich längst nicht nur um eine geschickte Methode zur Vermeidung von Unzulänglichkeiten der Umweltpolitik. Vielmehr hat es das Potenzial, sowohl einer produktivistischen Ökonomie (II) als auch einer konsumistischen Kultur entgegenzuwirken (III) und damit Postwachstum zu ermöglichen.
    Damit könnte ein ökologisch finanziertes Grundeinkommen helfen, die Beschleunigungsmotoren “abzuschalten”, die – der Theorie Hartmut Rosas folgend – für die fortwährende soziale Beschleunigung moderner Gesellschaften verantwortlich sind (IV). Abschließend werde ich zeigen, dass ein ÖGE nicht nur eine potenzielle Beschleunigungsbremse ist, sondern sich besonders zu einer schrittweisen Einführung des Prinzips eines bedingungslosen Grundeinkommens (BGE) überhaupt eignet, dass also ein realistischer Weg zu dieser Utopie möglich ist (V). Mehr



  • Ecological Basic Income - An entry is possible
    Contribution to the BIEN-Kongress Munich 2012

    An ecological basic income is a basic income financed by taxation of undesired consumption of environmental resources. The revenue of these ecological fees (e.g. CO2, raw materials, open spaces) will be shared back equally to everyone.  But it’s not about a fancy method to avoid an inaccessibility of environmental policies any more. Rather it helps the Green New Deal, as a mainstream project for the simultaneous solution of ecological and economical crisis, to gain a libertarian and anti-productivist character. more

    Presentation



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    Ökologisches Grundeinkommen - ein Einstieg ist möglich
    Beitrag zum BIEN-Kongress München 2012


    Ein ökologisches Grundeinkommen wird durch Abgaben auf unerwünschten Umweltverbrauch finanziert. Doch das Prinzip ist nicht nur eine geschickte Methode, um aus bestimmten Sackgassen der Umweltpolitik herauszukommen. Es könnte dem Green New Deal, der sich als hegemoniales Projekt zur gleichzeitigen Bearbeitung der ökologischen und ökonomischen Krise etabliert, zu einem libertären und deproduktivistischen Charakter verhelfen. Mehr