Right-libertarianism and universal basic income: reasons for skepticism

Abstract

The purpose of this article is twofold – on the one hand, it offers an overview of the main theoretical orientations of libertarianism, with a focus on right-libertarianism, and its potential support for a universal basic income guarantee; on the other hand, it looks at what seems the most developed case in the right-libertarian camp for such a scheme. Although sympathetic to Zwolinski’s arguments, I contend that a neo-Lockean framework cannot conduce to a basic income institutional arrangement without an interpretation of the Lockean proviso in a left-libertarian manner and the most promising strategy for a right-libertarian argument would be one carried in other frameworks.

Keywords

• libertarianism
• basic income
• welfare state
• lockeanism