Basic income is an innovative, powerful egalitarian response to widening
global inequalities and poverty experiences in society, one that runs
counter to the neoliberal transformations of modern welfare states,
social security, and labor market programs. This book is the first
collective volume of its kind to ask whether a basic income offers a
viable solution to the income support systems in Australia and New
Zealand. Though often neglected in discussions of basic income, both
countries are advanced liberal democracies dominated by neoliberal
transformations of the welfare state, and therefore have great potential
to advance debates on the topic. The contributors' essays and case
studies explore the historical basis on which a basic income program
might stand in these two countries, the ideological nuances and
complexities of implementing such a policy, and ideas for future
development that might allow the program to be put into practice
regionally and applied internationally.