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uit of ideas innovation and invention there is also a strong ethical case for the introduction of a basic income under current policies it is simply not possible to lead a dignified existence and enjoy a comfortable standard of living without waged employment many people through no fault of their own are placed in the demoralising position of unemployment with minimal prospect of respite without the support of family and friends these people are forced to rely solely on the meagre income provided by the welfare state this comes principally in the form of jobseeker s allowance the very name of which explicitly reveals its basis in wage labour as opposed to having a grounding in basic human compassion and the wellbeing of people it should be embarrassing that a modern and developed 21st century nation does not afford all of its citizens a comfortable standard of living from an ethical perspective a basic income would enshrine as a fundamental right for all people a dignified existence and a comfortable standard of living something all people have a right to regardless of employment status the introduction of a basic income would also yield powerful economic dividends the economy would be provided with the space and impetus to move forward with automation and computerisation at great speed unrestrained by the current social concerns of governments which expect the economy to supply full employment the government would be free to invest heavily in developing modern technology fostering a highly technologically advanced economy this economic transformation would represent a firm alternative to the current agenda of racing to the bottom in terms of living standards working conditions and regulation in the obnoxious global race instead advocating a race to the top both in terms of economic activity and in terms of the social economic and cultural wellbeing of all citizens the existence of an ample basic income would also raise questions over the future of the minimum wage it may need to be raised above the level of income provided by a basic income alternatively a different approach entirely could be taken either way a discussion would need to be had over the future of the minimum wage in a basic income era clearly the provision of a basic income equivalent to or greater than the living wage for every adult citizen in a country the size of the united kingdom would hardly be inexpensive moreover a basic income would not remove the necessity for strong public services such as the national health service or the bbc in fact the public sector should in the future encompass more areas fundamental to life such as but not limited to rail transport and the provision of energy water and broadband however the challenge of arranging the public finances in a manner which would accommodate a basic income would not be insurmountable firstly a basic income itself would mean more people having more money to spend in the economy which is generally a good thing for economic activity secondly our tax revenue as a percentage of gdp currently rests somewhere between 30 and 40 percent while in scandinavian countries this figure is closer to 50 percent indicating the need for the uk to raise its tax revenue closer to and possibly beyond scandinavian levels moreover the uk tax system lacks progressivity notably the wealthy contribute less than they should and is hemorrhaging revenue due to tax avoidance and evasion thus it is completely within our grasp to achieve an ample basic income if we set our minds to it looking forward into the long term future the introduction of a basic income would in all likelihood expand and improve the quality of discourse in society concerning equality and the distribution of wealth this is because society manifested in democratic governance will have much greater control over the income of a considerable portion of the general population moreover unlike the myriad arcane schemes of a traditional welfare state a basic income would be clear and visible leaving little room for misrepresentations or misconceptions in discourse as an aside the benefits of automation outlined in this piece do not negate the risks to society of other aspects of automation and the information age more broadly the information age has delivered countless innovations but such innovations are rarely forensically analysed with a healthy degree of skepticism in the space of warfare the rise of autonomous drones is a disconcerting spectre on the horizon in the space of social media some individuals hide behind the cloak of anonymity to blurt vile vitriol against others privacy is frequently breached and poorly understood by people and the impact of online social networking on social relations more fundamentally is considered by some to be pernicious these are just some of the issues provoking nascent discussion the information age provides at least as many negative opportunities to society as it does positive ones there is almost certainly an imperative for societal introspection in this new area of life something which we are currently lacking ultimately the information age is presenting society with an opportunity not previously available to it for centuries economic activity has been inexorably dependent upon the labour of humans this inexorable dependence is being eroded by the rapid evolution of technology in recent times if this trend is met by compassionate social policy principally in the form of a basic income it can afford people the choice of waged employment and ensure a dignified standard of living for all as a fundamental right many people will remain in waged employment but a considerable number of others will be free to contribute to society in ways that are usually marginalised under the current economic model allowing all people to pursue what is most valuable to them in life such a change in society has the potential to release the real essences of humanity in an explosion of culture creativity knowledge philosophy discourse social relations philanthropy and numerous other human endeavours we will soon be presented with a socioeconomic and technological climate in which the idea of a basic income can be realised and as such the idea should come to form a central component of modern social democratic movements economy society taxes welfare automation basic income citizen s wage computerisation creativity culture digital revolution information age philanthropy wage labour wealth inequality 0 comments november 15th 2013 an encompassing parliament the uk parliament in its current form is anachronistic and needs to not merely reform but transform entirely parliament needs to change from being composed of two separate chambers to being composed of three distinct but collaborative representative bodies national politicians nonpartisan civil society envoys and regional envoys the house of commons is elected through an archaic and in many regards arcane electoral system which fails consistently to reflect the political and social fabric of the country the system also makes it immensely difficult for political movements to produce substantial change outside the scope of the two primary parties the introduction of mixed member proportional representation mmp to the house of commons would fundamentally alter and enhance the tenor and character of politics in britain it would empower every single voter as currently millions are left essentially disenfranchised this is owing to the nature of first past the post elections and safe seat constituencies wherein the votes of those who opt not to support the predominate political party within their constituency have virtually no effect on the wider national election result mmp would also herald in coalition politics as a mainstay of our democracy and in doing so ensure that a greater cross section of our society is represented in government than would be the case under a majoritarian electoral system majoritarian governments almost invariably represent a minority of the population while coalition governments generally represent over half of all voters the house of lords is quite simply not elected at all and has virtually no substantial democratic mandate while its nominal role as being a measured and nonpartisan collection of specialists experts and leading lights in all walks of life is an admirable and vital one its composition must have democratic foundations which can only be achieved through democratic elections the recent phenomenon by which governing political parties seek to as it were pack the lords with partisan peers is also deeply disobliging in relation to the lords aforementioned nominal role owing to the immense dislocation in legitimacy experienced by the lords it should be abolished and its responsibilities assumed by two new representative bodies nonpartisan civil society envoys and regional envoys civil society in the form of charities pressure groups think tanks and other similar organisations have never been truly represented in the legislative process and are often sidelined by governments the transformation of parliament would allow us to address this problem directly with the most favourable solution being the creation of a representative body of civil society this body would be elected nationally preferably under the single transferable vote stv electoral system possibly with staggered elections with each candidate being a nonpartisan organisation it could potentially be the case that individuals alongside organisations could be elected with a share of the seats being allocated to organisations while another share is allocated to individuals for instance a 75 25 allocation of the seats between the two types organisation individual of candidate in the allocation of seats to individuals decision makers would need to be acutely aware of the dangers of personality politics the imperative should be to ensure that this body effectively represents civil society in a measured manner devolution has established a seismic shift in british politics placing much more power in the hands of regional representatives devolution will almost certainly be extended in the future to the remaining english regions which currently lack the same degree of regional representation that their fellow welsh scottish northern irish and london counterparts enjoy however there is no institutional representation of regional interests at the national level this should be resolved by the creation of a representative body of regional envoys each acting as a delegate for their regional government this body of delegates would be similar to that of the bundesrat of germany ultimately the commons would preserve its legislative supremacy with the other two bodies scrutinising legislation emanating from the commons just as the lords does currently it could also be the case that legislation pertaining to devolution would require consent of the regional delegation body though this is an area where discussion will be needed significantly however this model of parliament would depart from the traditional concept of there being two bodies residing in two separate chambers instead this model would establish ubiquitous and extensive interbody and intergovernmental collaboration all three of the bodies would for instance attend prime minister s questions rather than only the national politicians moreover the bodies would often share the same chamber and debate this would cultivate a much more fluid flexible and open legislative and deliberative process it is vital that we recognise that we have long passed the point of reform in parliament we cannot simply tinker around the edges in a piecemeal manner we must tackle the issues and anachronisms of parliament directly in a cohesive and cogent manner anything short of a total transformation of parliament will fail to produce the change in politics that is desperately needed in britain featured image credit karoly lorentey british constitution democracy politics society civil society devolution government mixed member proportional parliament proportional representation single transferable vote tricameralism uk parliament uk politics 0 comments november 9th 2013 labour is entertaining the concept of negative campaigning a dangerous endeavour labour have released a political advertisement on their youtube channel with the title you can t trust david cameron with the nhs while i would agree with this title the contents are wholly reprehensible and have the potential if left unchallenged to signify a dark turn in british politics and labour campaign practise my discomfort with this advert stems from the fact that it is a form of negative campaigning at no point does the advert outline labour s own policies in the health arena it merely lists the failures of the coalition government more than this though it also teeters precariously close to being an attack ad government is not run by one person it is run by a cabinet of ministers and supported by political parties but this advert attacks david cameron personally the advert was likely created in response to the conservatives having published a similarly distasteful advert of their own which took aim at both ed miliband and ed balls clearly though stooping to the unscrupulous level of your opponents is never a positive campaign strategy the british electorate has been mostly shielded from the practise of negative campaigning as political advertising on radio and television is strictly regulated allowing only occasional time slots for party political broadcasts the situation is manifestly different in the united states where negative campaigning forms a central part of political campaigns is essentially unregulated involves billions of dollars and cultivates a very dark and petty political culture the advent of the web and its rapid ascent to the upper echelons of media consumption while a positive thing for political discourse in many ways has the potential to diminish the tempered and healthy state of political advertising enjoyed in britain up to this point general spending constraints are placed upon political parties and election candidates but the legislation which regulates political advertising only does so for radio and television leaving political advertising on the web essentially unregulated political parties if they wish to do so and are able to raise the necessary funds have the capacity to publish any type of political advertising on the web with no strings attached in order to prevent british political advertising from degrading into the obnoxious form present in the united states the major political parties must come together to establish a cross party consensus on how to move forward in adapting regulation in this area to respond to the innovations of new media for instance web based political advertising could be limited in its quantity and restricted to only being displayed during particular periods of time w...