Guaranteed Income Would Undermine Social Virtues of Work

The idea of a government provided income for all citizens is gaining currency. While today universal guaranteed income is mostly pressed by the left, Milton Friedman once argued for it as well. But the proposal is blind to the predictable costs of an unprecedented social engineering experiment that would separate citizens from one of the most important sources of human flourishing.

Freeing people from the necessity to work may sound like the last word in progressive altruism or in the efficient rationalization of social welfare, but it would undermine a pillar of our personal and social order. Work has benefits beyond earning income. It provides the satisfaction of achievement, the discipline of focusing on the desires of others, and the social bonds that our fellow workers provide.