Elite too conservative on basic income

The value system of senior executives is incompatible with the idea of a basic income. This is the finding of a study by the Wertevolle Zukunft Foundation. “It is remarkable just how structurally conservative members of the elite are,” says Michael Opielka of Jena University of Applied Sciences, who led the study published by VS Verlag under the title ‘Basic Income and Value Orientation’. The study, which is based on an analysis of interpretative patterns drawn from qualitative interviews with executives, shows that mere membership of the elite – quite apart from differing interests – has a homogenising effect on the value structure of executives. This value structure is dominated by the traditional principle of ‘performance in return for compensation’ and underlies the mistrust towards new egalitarian ideas such as the basic income.

The debate on the idea of a basic income

The idea of a basic income – which envisages the unconditional transfer of a basic sum to every citizen instead of the current means-tested social transfers – is garnering support across the political spectrum. Civil society initiatives, in particular, are endeavouring to bring the debate on this topic further into the public sphere – and have done so with some success in recent years.

Nevertheless, no political or societal majority in favour of the issue has emerged so far. It is worth noting, however, that both business figures such as Götz Werner and sociologists such as Ulrich Beck have spoken positively about the concept. At the same time, the idea enjoys equal support from liberal economists and representatives of the Left Party.

The principles of the welfare state play a particular role in shaping values

A defining feature of the value structure of the executives surveyed with regard to a basic income is a form of solidarity defined by performance and reciprocity, and by an institutionally controlled, needs-based distribution of social transfer payments. Solidarity, understood in this way, can thus be characterised as a virtual link between the respondents, transcending the differing interests of individual groups.

This value framework precludes support for an egalitarian transfer system involving greater individual responsibility, such as a basic income. It is also accompanied by a conservative stance that invokes the welfare state principles of solidarity and subsidiarity, and regards the state as the central authority for regulating social policy issues.

The arguments against a basic income differ only at the level of interests and regulatory policy – for example, on the question of who should have greater influence over regulatory policy: the state or the market. The mindset of experts in the fields of politics and social work points to a desire for a ‘strong hand’ in the form of the state. That of experts in the field of economics, on the other hand, points to the market. Against the backdrop of this value structure, innovative ideas such as the basic income are not even recognised at a conceptual level by senior managers, but are instead instrumentalised as a means of legitimising their own values.

Does the homogeneous and conservative value structure hinder social innovation?

The results of the study therefore show no marked plurality of values amongst the executives surveyed, the vast majority of whom reject the basic income – even though the selection of executives from different sectors and with varying political backgrounds would have suggested differing views.

Following an analysis of the interviews, it can therefore be posited that membership of the elite has a homogenising effect on value structures and socialises its members more strongly than their diverse political or economic interests. A second hypothesis, drawing on the conservative value structure identified among the experts, suggests that the issue of a basic income is too innovative – and therefore too risky – to be accepted by a conservatively oriented elite.  This could also explain the persistence often attributed to German society, which is exemplified by the elites themselves.

With this study, the Wertevolle Zukunft Foundation aims to contribute to a discussion on values and the associated questions of distributive and merit-based justice. A further aim of the study is to gain an insight into how opinion leaders in Germany interpret economic and political ethics in relation to the idea of a basic income.

Further information on the study is available at tim.bendixen@wertevolle-zukunft.de.