They must embrace sustainable development and reduce their ecological footprints

We need a transformation in welfare provision, but even more important are measures to tackle the underlying causes of inequality.O ver sixty years we have grown accustomed to benefits and services provided by the welfare state. All the while, the volume of provision has expanded exponentially, driven by a growing and ageing population, by rising public expectations, and in some cases, notably healthcare, by scientific advances and by supply driving up demand.

Discussions about sustainable consumption corridors tend to focus on private consumption. This Policy brief explores the contribution that public consumption may provide in maintaining lower and upper corridor boundaries. Recently developed proposals for "universal basic services" (UBS) are offered as a framework for understanding the potential of public consumption in this context. Drawing on a multi-disciplinary literature, the policy brief seeks to define and analyze the concept of universal basic services in theoretical and practical terms. It considers how far they may contribute and what their limits are, and briefly examines the extent to which this approach complements or conflicts with proposals for universal basic income (UBI).

The idea of pooling resources and sharing risks to provide universal services according to need not ability to pay was at the heart of the post-war settlement. However, decades of market ideology and deep spending cuts have left most services starved of power and resources. Universal Basic Services (UBS) offers a principled framework for policy and practice that aims to ensure everyone has access to life’s essentials. Based on need theory it combines universality with sufficiency to provide a secure social foundation for all within planetary boundaries. Needs are met in different ways, combining collective and individual measures, as illustrated by examples of childcare, housing and food. UBS can be combined with an income guarantee to ensure no-one’s income falls below an agreed level of sufficiency. Cash and services, which represent a ‘social wage’, are best understood as two sides of the same coin, supporting rather than competing with one another.

This Viewpoint considers the case for making more and better use of uncommodified human resources to meet social needs and improve well-being for all. To do this in ways that reduce rather than widen inequalities, it will be necessary to redistribute paid and unpaid time more evenly across the population, especially between women and men.