In the modern world, it is well established that there are some basic human rights and these are enshrined in law in advanced countries. Most people now agree that there should be a right to life, to freedom under the law, to safe food, clean air and water, and state-funded education. All advanced countries except the USA provide universal state-funded healthcare. Advanced countries also provide various forms of welfare benefits to support child care, disability and retirement. Most significantly, they provide financial support for workers who lose their jobs and suffer a period of unemployment. However, it is the nature of right-wing politicians to resist the extension of the welfare system, and one of their repeated concerns is that some people may choose not to work but live permanently on unemployment benefit.
In his 1959 book, The Affluent Society, J K Galbraith considered this issue. Looking to the future, he reasoned that there will not be enough work to keep everyone employed 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. The amount of work he foresaw would keep everyone busy for about 4 hours a day, the level of employment enjoyed by our hunter-gatherer ancestors. The alternative to everyone working 4 hours would be for some people to remain idle. Galbraith proposed that those choosing not to work should be paid an amount of about 90% of what is now known as the basic wage. This amount would not be an unemployment benefit but a fundamental human right.
This idea has been put into practice on a limited scale. For example, in Kuwait in the 1960s all sons of sheiks were awarded an income of £1000 a year from birth, and no doubt, similar schemes have existed in other Arab countries. These serve to preserve a privileged class, but in a world set on the promotion of equality they could be extended to all citizens. With the basic means of life assured, each person would be free to pursue a vocation, to do what interests them most, irrespective of its potential financial reward.
Many people express horror at the idea of some being paid to be idle, but there have always been such people. It has long been accepted for people to do no work if they are rich. A universal life-support benefit would recognise the fundamental human right to be idle. Most people want something to keep themselves busy, something of interest to do and something to do to serve the community. Not all the rich are idle. Most people born with a silver spoon in their mouth choose to undergo training and pursue a career. There will always be plenty of people to keep things going in the relaxed steady-state economy of the future. Those who prefer to be idle, or devote their time to their chosen hobby, would be supported in the same way as those who are prevented from working by being handicapped or disabled.
Saint George, Rusty Knight, and Monster Tamer is a series of nine self-contained historical short stories which introduces George, a hapless knight who has an unusual skill for monster taming, and which, with wit and delightful aplomb takes the young reader on an adventurous journey though some significant moments in history.
Historical Novel Society, February 2016
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