Extreme poverty and human rights on universal basic income 2017, para. 25
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Some authors on the left of the political spectrum have been enthusiastic supporters of basic income. Guy Standing, a labour economist, has popularized the notion of a “precariat”, a very large segment of the population, whose lives are “dominated by insecurity, uncertainty, debt and humiliation. They are becoming denizens rather than citizens, losing cultural, civil, social, political and economic rights built up over generations”. He argues that in an ever more unequal society, the precariat’s relative deprivation is severe. According to Standing, a basic income would allow people to move in and out of the labour market more easily and would “enable citizens to accept low wages and to bargain more strongly”. Standing has also been involved in important pilot projects in India.
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Non-negotiated soft law
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Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights