I argue that, in the currently gender-unjust societies a basic income would not advance feminist goals. To assess the impact of a social policy on gender justice I propose the following criterion: a society is gender-just when the costs of engaging in a lifestyle characterized by gender-symmetry (in both the domestic and public spheres) are, for both men and women, smaller or equal to the costs of engaging in a gender-asymmetrical lifestyle. For a significant number of women, a basic income would increase the costs of leading gender-symmetrical lifestyles because it would make it easier for both women and men to pursue gender-unjust preferences. I argue that preference satisfaction is distinct from justice. I conclude by showing why a basic income would lead to further privatisation of caregiving, and I outline the negative effects this would have on women.

Ed. by Haagh, Louise / Mulvale, James
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Most Downloaded Articles
- How Cash Transfers Promote the Case for Basic Income by Standing, Guy
- Reconsidering the Exploitation Objection to Basic Income by White, Stuart
- Review of Gijs van Donselaar, The Right to Exploit: Parasitism, Scarcity, Basic Income by Rey Pérez, Jose Luis
- Classical Liberalism and the Basic Income by Zwolinski, Matt
- Libertarianism and the Justice of a Basic Income by Vallentyne, Peter
Basic Income, Gender Justice and the Costs of Gender-Symmetrical Lifestyles
Anca Gheaus
1Université Catholique de Lille & University of Oxford
Citation Information: Basic Income Studies. Volume 3, Issue 3, Pages –, ISSN (Online) 1932-0183, DOI: 10.2202/1932-0183.1134, December 2008
Publication History:
- Published Online:
- 2008-12-31
Keywords: Keywords – basic income; care; gender justice; privatisation; symmetrical lifestyles


















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