The Concept of An Universal Basic Income in Research Discourse: Implications for Labor and Social Law
The article studies the evolution of the UBI doctrines, reveals the concept of UBI from a critical standpoint, and defines the prospects for its research within the framework of the science of labor and social law. It is noted that the doctrine of the concept of UBI was revealed in the framework of the social-utopian and liberal branches of research. In the social-utopian aspect, the UBI concept is presented as an element of an ideal social structure that embodies ideas about equality and justice. The introduction of the social-utopian concept of UBI is impossible due to the insurmountable political and economic antagonisms of the capitalist world order. The liberal branch of research considers the ideological and economic tool for resolving the underlying problems of the market economy system in the concept of the UBI. At the present stage, the UBI is proposed as a universal tool for keeping a significant part of the population at a minimum sufficient level, who have lost the opportunity to earn money due to the widespread automation and informatization of production. As part of the criticism of the liberal branch of research on the UBI concept, the author highlights the psychological, economic and social aspects. According to the author, the science of labor and social law should be extremely careful about the concept of UBI. Scientists need to take into account all the possible risks of introducing UBI for the political, economic and social system of the state. The author believes that jurisprudence in the form of labor and social law should pay attention to criticism of the UBI researches and to the search for optimal solutions in the field of labor regulation and social security, consistent with the interests of employees. The latter should include the development of a phased mechanism for reducing the working hours and differentiating of social benefits.