The Widerquist-Caplan UBI Debate By Bryan Caplan

I recently did another debate on the Universal Basic Income, this time on Public Square with Georgetown philosopher – and founder of the journal Basic Income Studies – Karl Widerquist.

To be honest, I was surprised by the path the debate took. I expected Widerquist, a specialist, to run circles around me on the academic research, but he almost never discusses empirics. Instead, he offered a radical critique of the very legitimacy of private property. I’m not sure whether to call his view socialist or just Georgist, but Widerquist did put me in the strange position of debating a person even more at odds with mainstream thought than myself.

We did agree on open borders, though! Enjoy.