[ox-en] the commons as the condition for the basic income
- From: "Michel Bauwens" <michelsub2004 gmail.com>
- Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:51:26 +0700
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See http://www.re-public.gr/en/?p=418 <http://www.re-public.gr/en/?p=418>,
by Vasilis Kostakis,
http://p2pfoundation.net/Vasilis_Kostakis<http://p2pfoundation.net/Vasilis_Kostakis>
Comment:
from
http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/vasilis-kostakis-the-commons-as-the-condition-for-the-basic-income/2008/10/02
In an interesting contribution for
Re-Public<http://www.re-public.gr/en/?p=418>,
*the premier political journal on the internet*, *Vasilis Kostakis* makes a
link that I had never so clearly seen before, so reading the article was a
real "aha" moment.
It is the Commons itself, as an institutional form, that is the best
possible solution and way forward to achieve a basic income for the world's
citizens and thereby eliminate povery.
*We quote the essential paragraph by Vasilis:*
"*Based on all the above hypotheses, I argue that a new environmental policy
that will include the institutionalization of the field of the Commons, can
contribute to the fight against local and world poverty, through the
establishment of a universal income. Enterprises, states, and even
individuals, that pollute the environment through various ways (waste,
nuclear tests, etc.) or television stations and telephone companies that use
the air (the air consists a means of production for them) for the
transmission of their signals, will pay a large amount of money to a Commons
fund, as they use or affect, directly or indirectly, part of our common
wealth. The money that will be raised through this process, will create a
reserve fund, which will support the distribution of the basic universal
income targeting poorer social groups. An example of environmental
protection (it has to do with the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions)
and, at the same time, of fundraising for the universal income is the cap
and dividend system, that is being developed by the Onthecommons
Organization. The idea behind this method is relatively simple: a limited
number of pollution licences is issued (according to official reduction
objectives), and then sold through auction to the pollutants through, while
the money raised are not spent by governments, but distributed equally to
all citizens. As the poorer social groups are those who pollute less, they
benefit more by such a policy measure, according to Barnes. In a few words,
the cap and dividend system is a way for reducing carbon dioxide emissions
and protecting household incomes with one stroke. The pillar of this system
is the creation of a trust that can be run either by the government, or by a
non-profit company. This trust will issue pollution licences and will
distribute the money raised through their auction to all citizens*."
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