“Basic Income is an idea whose time has come”: But why here, why now, and in what way? Paul David Luke Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Leeds Department of Sociology and Social Policy September 2019 The candidate confirms that the work submitted is his own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others. This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement The right of Paul David Luke to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Page 3 of 209 Abstract That Basic Income has received increased attention recently is noted in both academic and media discourse. A critical question about this attention is whether it amounts to more than “just a fad”. Contesting the label of “fad”, this thesis argues that the contemporary attention to Basic Income emerges through interlinked debates around the social understanding of work and the extent of the State. This argument is developed from semi-structured interviews with stakeholders who have relevant expertise in and around the Basic Income discourse, as well as thematic analysis of print media discussion of Basic Income in 2015 – 2017. This thesis examines the significance of the attention through the framework developed by Levitas as the Imaginary Reconstitution of Society. That is, it considers the discourse around Basic Income as fragmentary utopias, containing a mixture of critiques of the present, visions of the future “good society”, and policy proposals to move between the two. This leads to the conclusions that (i) the attention to Basic Income is rather attention to a plurality of Basic Incomes, with different purposes and bases, and (ii) that Basic Income cannot be understood as a policy in isolation, but instead as a part of a broader policy platform. Page 4 of 209 Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 3 Contents ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………4 List of Figures and Tables ........................................................................................................................ 5 Chapter 1 – Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 7 Chapter Outline ................................................................................................................................. 10 Chapter 2 – Discussing Basic Income .................................................................................................... 15 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 15 What is Basic Income ........................................................................................................................ 17 An idea whose time has come .......................................................................................................... 20 History of Basic Income in the UK ..................................................................................................... 22 Contemporary discussion of Basic Income in the UK ....................................................................... 26 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 39 Chapter 3 – Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 41 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 41 Utopia as Method ............................................................................................................................. 42 Data collection .................................................................................................................................. 47 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 61 Chapter 4 – Interview and media analysis findings .............................................................................. 62 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 62 Media Coverage of Basic Income (focusing on 2015 – 2017) ........................................................... 62 Other indicators of increased attention ........................................................................................... 81 Interviewee interpretations of the attention to Basic Income ......................................................... 84 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 98 Chapter 5 – Just a fad? Interpreting the attention to Basic Income ................................................... 100 Shifting policy window .................................................................................................................... 101 Interpretation of Fad....................................................................................................................... 103 A Return to the Imaginary Reconstitution of society (IROS) ........................................................... 106 Page 5 of 209 Basis for demands for Basic Income ............................................................................................... 110 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 122 Chapter 6 – “Realistic” Utopia ............................................................................................................ 124 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 124 Attention towards “feasibility” in 2015 – 2017 .............................................................................. 125 “Real” utopia and Reformist Reform .............................................................................................. 127 Feasibility and the UK Basic Income debate ................................................................................... 130 Basic Income: reformist or non-reformist reform? ........................................................................ 134 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 139 Chapter 7 – Basic Income and disruptive technology ......................................................................... 141 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 141 Press Attention to automation and Basic Income in the UK .......................................................... 142 Disruptive technology ..................................................................................................................... 147 Post-State Utopia? .......................................................................................................................... 154 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 166 Chapter 8 – Conclusions ...................................................................................................................... 168 Why is Basic Income receiving increased attention? ...................................................................... 169 Contribution and Implications for future research ......................................................................... 177 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................................ 181 Appendix A – Example interview schedule ......................................................................................... 202 Appendix B – Interviewee biographies ............................................................................................... 204 Page 6 of 209 List of Figures and Tables Table 1 - Reports discussing Basic Income from UK organisations ....................................................... 34 Table 2 - Research Questions ................................................................................................................ 40 Table 3 - Interviewees listed by category ............................................................................................. 49 Figure 1 - Count of published print media articles mentioning Basic Income, by year 2011 - 2017) ... 64 Figure 2 - Count of articles published in print media by month 2015 – 2017 ...................................... 66 Figure 3- Comparison between key nodes for Jan 2015-Jun 2016, and Jul 2016-Dec 2017 ................ 69 Figure 4 - Sources coded for UK political parties and Basic Income, by quarter