In this article, I aim to show that the universal basic income (UBI) proposal is inconsistent with the principles of a free and just society. To do so, I depart from a general argument in favour of UBI, supported in those works that offer one of its most recent and popular defences, maintaining that a basic income will maximize not only the amount of “real freedom” of the least free individuals in society, but also strengthen the framework of equality and inclusiveness, i.e., cooperation. After, I raise an objection that might defeat UBI’s legitimacy and necessity. The crux of the objection is that justifying basic income as a means of enhancing functionalist equality is parasitical upon intrinsic equality and substantive individual freedom. The questionable assumption at play is that the cooperative desideratum can be met in the absence of reciprocity. The lack of money is a problem of cooperation or inclusion. When money changes pockets, the problem of cooperation remains unresolved. Briefly, better and legitimate results for everyone do not necessarily entail just results. Thus, universal basic income is self-defeating. It could not be effectively implemented without a significant loss of justice, given that it is coercive and arbitrary even if more equalitarian.