The right to laziness has traditionally been only for the propertied rich, whereas the poor have had to struggle for decent wages and working conditions, unemployment and disability insurance, universal healthcare and other accoutrements of a dignified life. The idea that the poor should be granted an unconditional income sufficient to live on has been anathema not only to the high and mighty, but also to the labour movement, which embraced an ethic revolving around reciprocity, solidarity and contributing to society. When unconditional basic income schemes were proposed decades ago, they were inevitably met with outraged reactions from employers’ associations, trade unions, economists and politicians. Recently, however, the idea has resurfaced, gathering support from the radical left, the green movement and even the libertarian right. The cause is the rise of machines that, for the first time since the start of industrialisation, threaten to destroy more jobs than technological inn...
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