Direction 0: Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. Certain words are printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of these.
The danger of so-called “free money” not only underpins critiques of universal basic income (UBI), but also the incredibly strong narratives that underlie the attitudes to work in the UK (and elsewhere) – and our unemployment benefit system. Paid employment is held up as one of the ultimate markers of being a valuable member of society, with those not in paid work (always described in these narratives as a voluntary position, rather than as the result of issues outside their control) seen as a drain on society. Those out of work are positioned in direct contrast to those in paid employment: the shirkers versus the strivers. The negative psychological, social and physical effects of these narratives and assumptions are now being investigated, and the centrality of
work in our lives and society questioned. The notion that paid employment is the cure to all ills has been seriously undermined if it were ever true. Work as the best route out of poverty may still hold true for some, but the majority of households in poverty in the UK are now consistently those with at least one person in work. The likelihood of people becoming stuck in low-wage, low-skilled work is significant, and hard work among the lower paid is doing nothing to reduce economic inequalities. For its proponents, a UBI can provide a lifejacket and a route through some of these challenges. A UBI could provide a stable income floor, a guaranteed minimum below which no one would fall. Depending on the amount paid, it could enable low-paid workers to turn down the worst jobs on offer, or enable time away from paid work to retrain, or start a business. It would financially compensate those (usually women) caring for family for their work, support more people to be creative, to volunteer, or simply to do nothing. A UBI is not designed to promote “laziness” or any other type of behaviour, simply to allow individuals to make their own decisions about
how they wish to spend their time.