The basic income and the welfare state

Cato Unbound is hosting a month-long debate on “The Basic Income and the Welfare State.” The lead essay, “The Pragmatic Libertarian Case for a Basic Income Guaranteei” by Matt Zwolinski, is up now. In it, Zwolinski argues that libertarians should regard a BIG as significantly better, on libertarian grounds, than the current welfare state. It is cheaper, less paternalistic, and less prone to rent seeking. And while it might not measure up to strict standards of libertarian purity, it has a much better chance of actually being adopted in a world where 99% of people reject that purist vision.

Responses from Mike Huemer, Jim Manzi, and Robert Frank will go up over the next week.

A related audio: Libertarians for a Guaranteed Minimum Income? featuring Matt Zwolinski. This is the Cato Daily Podcast for December 5, 2013.