UBI and the Environmental Crisis: Fighting Poverty in a World of Overconsumption
I spend a lot of my time advocating for UBI set equal to the poverty line. Admittedly, I do not find this to be the most important issue in the world.
The biggest issue we are facing as a species is the environmental catastrophe happening on our planet because of overconsumption.
I know, you’re not really supposed to talk about overconsumption. It’s always alternative energy sources or some other new technology that’s supposed to come and save the day. This will not happen. A cleaner energy source will only accelerate our consumption and associated destruction of our habitat.
So why on earth would I want everyone to have a greater ability to consume?!?
De-growth is going to happen whether we want it or not. We are crossing ecological thresholds — environmental points of no return — regularly. This is because our entire economic system is based on growth. Simply put, we have made the decision as a species to consume as much as we can, as fast as we can, and made that our global economic policy. In a world with finite resources, that’s the fastest way to destroy your habitat and become extinct.
I see no version of things where global leaders stop this train. They are too bought into the idea of growth is good. Especially since they all are funded by the very people who feel they have the most to lose by all of us consuming less…the super wealthy.
We are consuming more and more while our planet overheats, our freshwater disappears, our top soil erodes away, our animals die out, etc. Combine that with AI opening the door for more consumption than we’ve ever imagined, all while making many human laborers obsolete, and you’ve got a perfect storm on your hands.
We will have to figure out a new economic system. When there is a shrinking pie, how will we slice it? If we keep our current insanely inequitable approaches, we will see famine and starvation in our poorest populations while the wealthy attempt to hold onto obscene amounts of wealth and unnecessary consumption. I hope our wealthiest citizens are familiar with history: people don’t tend to accept starvation lying down.
The environmental scenario we are facing is no bueno. Walking into this environmental meltdown without an economic floor in place will be horrific.
No, I don’t think UBI will save us from ourselves. However, I do think that it could cushion the unavoidable transition. A basic income could mean the difference between mass suffering and a chance at a more equitable way of existing. It would help us see that another economic way is possible, a way that’s not centered on endless extraction.
We have to create a sane economic system based on living in harmony with our ecosystems, not one focused on unlimited growth (an impossibility). De-growth doesn’t have to mean deprivation, it could mean prioritizing experiences, community, and a healthy planet over endless accumulation of stuff. With a UBI at the poverty line, I hope we will start discussing our economy in terms of everyone having enough, taking no more than what we need from nature, and seeing ourselves as a piece of a greater planetary ecosystem. Otherwise, we humans won’t be here much longer.
