Summary: Unconditionality is the main feature of the idea of basic income. What we have seen in the last few decades is the development of conditional cash transfers in developed, and especially, in developing countries. The tension between expansive conditionality and proposals of unconditional basic income is the main interest of this article. Firstly, the author develops an understanding of conditionality by way of distinguishing three types of it with the consideration of the definition, role and effectiveness of social sanctions. The context for presentation of these topics is the classical construct of a social security system with the main social insurance pillar being dependent on labour market participation and supplemental social assistance, one for those without social insurance entitlements, and the poor. Against this background the author assesses some weaknesses of the case for the basic income supported by Guy Standing and some possibilities of making them less persuasive.

Keywords: social assistance, conditional cash transfers, unconditional cash transfers, unconditional basic income, universal basic income, universal income, social security

Summary: According to Philip Pettit "a republican state promoting freedom as non-domination must promote socioeconomic independence". The article is an attempt to answer the question if introducing unconditional basic income should be considered as a policy promoting freedom as non-domination. The author argues that one can justify it with two arguments, proposed by Philip Pettit as a republican justification for socioeconomic independence: 1) it allows the state to secure people who are economically and socially dependent from forms of domination they would have to endure otherwise, 2) it allows for more un-dominated choice on the part of people who are economically and socially dominated.

Republican justification differs significantly from arguments in favour of unconditional basic income formulated by Philippe Van Parijs on the grounds of so-called "real libertarianism". The author argues that by treating unconditional basic income as a promotion of non-domination, instead of providing individuals with the means by which to pursue their conceptions of a good life, we do not have to finance it only with incomes independent from individual talents and limit its introduction to affluent countries.

Keywords: republicanism, unconditional basic income, non-domination, Pettit, Van Parijs

Summary: This article deals with constructive theoretical efforts to resolve dilemmas which are present in the debates surrounding an Unconditional Basic Income (UBI) and the need for the ecological rationalization of economic systems. Putting together the arguments, which are present in both debates, the article supports the ecosocial frame for UBI, which – combined with other instruments of political ecology – is one of the most promising perspectives of social transition in an emancipatory and sustainable direction. Outlining a perspective of social change seems to be very profound and ambitious, but it simultaneously helps to address the main obstacles to UBI’s implementation and to the serious consideration of an ecological aspect in programming social development.

Keywords: unconditional basic income, green politics, sustainable development, degrowth, ecological taxes

Summary: In this article, basic income (BI) will not be considered as a measure to raise living standards and social well-being. Rather, it will be presented as an indispensable structural policy for achieving a healthier social order governed by a more equitable compromise between capital and labor. Embracing the French Regulation School approach, we maintain that such a compromise is founded on the redistribution of productivity gains. Describing the dynamics of productivity enables a better understanding of the main features and development of contemporary capitalism. In advancing our argument, we focus on the socioeconomic transformation that has overtaken the Fordist paradigm within Western countries and propose the term ‘‘cognitive capitalism’’ to describe the new economic system. We argue that BI can be seen as a viable economic policy able to contrast the instability generated by the present form(s) of accumulation, as it increases productivity through network and learning processes.

Keywords: basic income, productivity, cognitive capitalism, crisis, Regulation School, post-Fordism, knowledge

Summary: The aim of this article is to present the argumentation of the cognitive capitalism theoreticians for unconditional basic income, to point out its original input into the debate on this solution, and to demonstrate some of its theoretical inconsistencies and shortcomings. The originality of this approach lies in lending special significance to the thesis on the crisis of the labour theory of value and the hegemony of immaterial/biopolitical labour in cognitive capitalism. The argument of this article is that in spite of the revolutionary rhetoric sometimes present in writings of this group, researchers who belong to it perceive basic income as a crucial element of the program of reforms, which could be an answer to the current state of class struggle. Furthermore, concrete proposals of the sources of its financing, as well as arguments related to the stabilization of the system and direct improvement of the situation of people occupying the worst positions in the social structure indicates that the argumentation of the researchers using the notion of cognitive capitalism is not revolutionary, but rather reformist.

Keywords: unconditional basic income, financing, cognitive capitalism, productivity, radical reformism, value

Summary: This article is an attempt to identify fiscal and monetary conditions for the implementation of basic income and to consider the expected consequences of the solutions for the world of work. In particular, much attention has been devoted to the latter issue. Considered and critically interpreted as being the three most important arguments of the proponents of basic income are: 1) increase in demand for labour (issue of labour supply), 2) strengthening the power of labour relative to capital, 3) the expected recognition of socially useful activities outside the labour market. In summary, it attempts to answer the question as to whether or not the basic income is a revolutionary postulate.

Keywords: basic income, work, labor, welfare state, risk

Summary: AThe paper discusses basic income in the context of feminist political ecology using the concepts of reproductive labour, both performed by people and by nature. In the first part we will elaborate on the Wages for Housework campaign as a forerunner of the idea of basic income. This campaign inscribed the concept of income into an intersectional relation between patriarchy and capitalism which was a key element of its revolutionary dimension. In the second part we analyse three different social struggles in order to create a ground for further reflections over the legitimacy of such tools (and resolutions) such as basic income. On the one hand the paper highlights some elements of the crisis of social reproduction, brought about and further deepened by neoliberal reforms in Poland over the past 25 years. On the other hand, it alludes to the issues of ecological crisis which needs to be taken into account in every anti-capitalist theory or strategy. Thus, the article aims to investigate as to whether the wage demands for both reproductive and productive labour are still relevant in the era of neoliberal capitalism.

Keywords: basic income, social reproduction, ecology, social movements, capitalism, neoliberalism