What we have right now is a system that is built on a mindset of scarcity and exploitation. Workers have barely any power to escape exploitative situations. Business owners either recognize the exploitation and either pretend that it is part of the game or believe that they are helpless to do anything about it; or they may also have an existential fear of being poor themselves, and so rationalize that the means by which they make money is justified no matter the moral degradation.

And this system is getting worse. We are now seeing the people’s frustrations, dread and fear be weaponized so that people make decisions that are against their interest. People swayed by targeted advertising and fervor-driven rhetoric will increase and become less rational as labor shrinkage due to automation and climate change displacement continue.

Basic income is the first step in changing that system. It gives workers employment options where they are not vulnerable to exploitation, either morally or physically. It opens up new vistas of existence, a hopeful one in which they are not constantly fighting for survival, where they, instead, thrive and fulfill their potential. Basic income helps nudge businesses to align their behaviors with the general morality and find more mutually beneficial systems.

Basic income is the easiest, broadest, and fairest exploitation alleviation tool that we can use to meet the needs of a world that is constantly challenging us. It is the simplest program to execute with zero or the least government bureaucracy. Since basic income is a basic right, there are no gatekeepers deciding who gets to receive it.

All basic income tests resulted in recipients being happier, healthier, safer, and better educated. Basic income also improved civic engagement and trust in institutions. If we want a society that is capable of adjusting and even thriving in spite of the existential challenges we face, then basic income is the only way.