Letters - 3 December 2021
From Universal basic income to Prayer
Universal basic income
I have listened to a recording of a talk by Natalie Bennett about universal basic income (UBI), and realise that my article in the Friend of 12 November missed an important aspect: freedom.
Under capitalism, much of people’s time is controlled by their employers. Under communism, it is controlled by the state. With UBI, we can control our own time. For example, a contract to build a nuclear submarine is welcomed because it will provide jobs in a depressed area. With UBI, local people have the option of working for the company building the submarine, or maybe spending their time campaigning against nuclear weapons.
Elizabeth Coleman
Consumption reduction
Roger Plenty (12 November) writes of his disappointment that a previous piece of his on the topic of consumption reduction ‘aroused no response’. May I respectfully remind him of an uncomfortable lesson which I have had to learn over the years? Namely that ‘No response is a response’.
Jan Lethbridge
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