The Digital Economy’s Role in Widening Inequality and Increasing Economic Insecurity

Chapter two firmly locates advocacy for a universal basic income within the context of a digital economy whose contemporary character and ubiquity work against the type of social organisation that is needed to promote sustainable ways of living. In its scaling up of virtually all markets to the global level, the digital economy has significantly accentuated what Rosen [The American Economic Review, 71(5), 845–858 (1981)] identified as the tendency for markets to be monopolised by a small number of global ‘superstars’ [White, Ethics and Social Welfare, 13(1), 64–78 (2019)]. Those at the top can thus command an ever greater share of economic wealth, while the vast majority of, comparatively much poorer, citizens compete for what is left. This tendency has been exacerbated in recent years by ever more sophisticated forms of artificial intelligence which enable the automation of an increasing number of tasks in the workplace. The net result of this is persisting, if not rising, inequality among workers as well as a reduction in ‘worthwhile’ jobs. The main purpose of this chapter is to argue that there is a major structural problem with the contemporary economy and that existing modes of organising work and providing welfare to those that do not are inadequate. In short, it provides the intellectual argument for a new approach.