Author Archive

Jurgen De Wispelaere

Jurgen De Wispelaere is a Fellow with the McGill Institute for Health and Social Policy (IHSP). An occupational therapist turned political philosopher, he holds degrees in occupational therapy and moral sciences, and is currently completing a PhD at the University of Tampere (Finland) on the politics of basic income. He is a founding editor of the journal Basic Income Studies and co-editor of several collections (Palgrave 2003, Routledge 2007, Blackwell 2013). He has written extensively on the politics and public administration of basic income in a range of journals and edited volumes.

Photo credit: Alexandru Nika (Shutterstock)

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Yesterday, the Swiss voted on the proposal to provide a basic income sufficient to allow the people to live in a dignified manner and participate in public life. The proposal was voted down with 23.1 per cent of the voters in favour and 76.9 per cent against. With a participation rate of 46.3 per cent that boils down to little over 10 per cent of the Swiss population supporting basic income. No doubt the Swiss campaigners as well as those watching the referendum closely will be conducting a post-mortem of what happened and how to interpret these results. I for one believe this is a result that the Swiss campaign should be proud of. A 23 per cent yes vote in a popular vote …