Universal Basic Income: when (if at all) is there parasitic exploitation?

Abstract

In this paper I focus on parasitic cases of exploitation in the case of UBI. I start by arguing that existing concepts of parasitic exploitation in the literature are over inclusive, since they label as cases of parasitic exploitation some cases that are not. Then I offer my own narrower framework of parasitic exploitation, which includes three conditions: built-in mechanisms, structural vulnerability and non-proportionality. I suggest that exploitation happens when agents misuse a system to obtain additional profit at the potential expense of the weak party. This profit is additional compared to a counterfactual scenario in which the systemic vulnerability was not present. I argue that while some cases of parasitic exploitation may arise in the case of UBI, these cases are likely to be weak, and hence, absence of regulation of this system can be justified on the grounds that this would prevent stronger types of exploitation and domination.