Critical reflections on basic universalism
Keywords:
Basic Universalism, Social Policies, Social RightsAbstract
In the last few years Basic Universalism has become one of the main topics in the debate agenda of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) about social rights in South America. It is said that the Basic Universalism can lead to a better allocation of the social public expenditure by first focusing in the universalisation of the basic social benefits of good quality, and then moving on towards the complete universalisation. In this paper I claim that the establishment and effective implementation of the UB do not lead to the universalisation of elevated amounts of the basic benefits of good quality and qualities, nor to the progressive universalisation of all the social benefits. On the contrary, I consider that it generates a tendency towards a mercantilisation in both levels, basic and non basic, and the decrease in amount and quality of free basic benefits, with the consequent increase of inequities in income in the access to social benefits, both basic and non basic, that is produced by the labour and financial market.
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