3. Three Waves of Basic Income Support

Widerquist shows that since the early twentieth century, Basic Income has experienced three distinct waves of support, each one larger than the last. Basic Income experienced a small wave of support between 1910 and 1940, followed by a down period in the 1940s and 1950s. A second and larger wave of support happened in the 1960s and 1970s, followed by another down period in most countries until the early 2000s. Basic Income’s third and largest wave of support took off around 2010, has increased every year since, and shows no signs of dissipating. This chapter attempts to understand today’s Basic Income movement in the context of that history, drawing lessons from when and where the discussion tends to come and go.