Reinhard will discuss the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) definition of Universal Basic Income (UBI) and some important gaps in the definition. The opposition against UBI is often focused on the issues of costs, affordability and feasibility. However, what matters in the end is the public demand and the political will to introduce UBI as a societal institution to offer everybody a secure social foundation. He  will explain that UBI can support the socio-ecological transformation from an industrial extract-produce—consume-waste economy to a grand-children-friendly circular economy. We need to change our attitudes about UBI from ‘free money’ to a ‘right to subsistence’ and about our Commons from ‘free for all’ to our ‘collective inherited wealth’. The actual free-riding of our Commons (Air, Water, Soil, others) will be replaced by fees for their use. These fees will finance UBI and essential services. UBI delivery will be the responsibility of several Commons Trust Funds rather than the State.

About the Speaker

Reinhard Huss studied medicine in Bonn and Nottingham and worked in the NHS as a clinical doctor and researcher for four years including two in Leeds. He worked for five years in Zimbabwe as a clinical medical officer and for seven years in the Central African Republic as public health (PH) advisor. Afterwards he became a PH advisor for German Technical Cooperation and later taught at the University of Heidelberg with various PH assignments in Africa, Asia and Europe. Before his retirement in 2019 he was the programme leader for the Master of International PH at the Nuffield Centre for International Health and Development at the University of Leeds. In 1991 Reinhard became interested in Universal Basic Income (UBI) when he wrote his public health master thesis at the University of Leeds on the topic of ‘Economic Justice for Sustainable Health’. The thesis explored the concept of time autonomy as an important factor of personal health. Moreover we require UBI as a societal institution to give practical meaning to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 25 ‘Right to Adequate Standard of Living’. Reinhard is coordinator of UBI Lab Leeds, member of the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) and  Unconditional Basic Income Europe (UBIE).

In case you would like an introduction to Basic Income before our session, you may want to listen to the poem of Jose Cordon ‘Living in America’ at Twitter or read the Morning Star article ‘After AI: time to embrace universal basic income’

About Cafe Economique

Café Economique is a voluntary organisation which runs a monthly meeting with a speaker, the aim of which is to invite debate  about current socio- economic, social justice   and environmental topics.

For further information, see the website  (cafeeconomiqueleeds.org)