Andrew Yang is an entrepreneur who is running for president of the United States, with a long-shot campaign built primarily upon universal basic income.

His new book, "The War on Normal People," argues that a massive loss of jobs within the next 10-15 years is unavoidable.

He advocates for a $1,000 monthly universal basic income for all Americans ages 18-64, funded by a value-added tax, to assist them through the transition.

This post is part of Business Insider's series on Better Capitalism.

Andrew Yang has spent the last 18 years in the startup world.

Most recently, he is the founder of Venture for America, a nonprofit that puts new college graduates in new businesses in emerging American cities. His experiences have led him to one major conclusion: Millions of Americans stand to lose their jobs in the next 10-15 years, and the transition to a new world of automation is going to be painful.

It's why he's not only advocating for a universal basic income (UBI), but is running for president of the United States on a platform built on that movement. He's running as a Democrat, and while he's a long-shot candidate, he believes strongly enough in what he considers to be the necessity of a UBI to dedicate himself to the journey.

In his new book "The War on Normal People," he made clear that his plan is about an evolution of American capitalism rather than a replacement. "I'm no fan of big government," he wrote. "I have sat in Washington, DC, conference rooms and filled out forms and realize the limitations of what even well-intended public officials can do."

At the same time, he told Business Insider, "Corporations can't be expected to solve all of society's problems. That's not their role." That is, he does not see anything wrong with engineers working on technology that will replace workers with services that will benefit consumers — but this should not happen without a counterbalance.

He outlined his version of UBI:

All Americans age 18-64 would receive a monthly check of $1,000, regardless of their income.

The lack of limitations would prevent people from trying to "game the system" and remain in an income bracket.

It would cost $1.3 trillion (for reference, the federal budget is about $4 trillion) and be funded by a value-added tax (VAT). Nearly all developed countries have a VAT system, in which a consumption tax is added to a product at a production stage where value is added and when it's purchased.

It would not be a replacement for a full income, but a supplement that could provide a cushion during a job search, additional schooling, or building a small business.

"A VAT would result in slightly higher prices," Yang wrote. "But technological advancement would continue to drive down the cost of most things."

A discussion of a guaranteed income has been ongoing since at least when Thomas Paine wrote about it in 1796. It has had supporters ranging from democratic socialists to libertarians, with the debate being primarily over how it should be funded. The idea has gained popularity in recent years among tech elites like SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Facebook cofounders Mark Zuckerberg and Chris Hughes.

Yang explained that he envisions a US that runs on "Human Capitalism," where businesses can pursue growth and be rewarded by the government with credits for beneficial impact on workers' lives and the environment, for example. A UBI would play an important role in this system.

"Our economic system must shift to focus on bettering the lot of the average person," he wrote. "Capitalism has to be made to serve human ends and goals, rather than have our humanity subverted to serve the marketplace."