Amartya Sen, Karl Polanyi, and Universal Basic Income

Seminar Information

Talk Title：Amartya Sen, Karl Polanyi, and Universal Basic Income

Time: Dec 5, Tuesday (17:00 - 18:30)

ZOOM ID: 826 2531 9340

Passcode: 317354

Abstract:

This talk develops a Polanyian capabilitarian framework to understand and justify the universal basic income. I combine Amartya Sen’s capabilities approach with Karl Polanyi’s substantive view of economy to mount a normative case for basic income. Using this approach, I also ground the basic income debate in a relational ontology, the idea that the self and society are mutually constituted. By doing so, I problematise hegemonic assumptions underlying much of the basic income discourse and call for ontological and epistemic diversity. The paper both provides a critique of individualist ontology and offers an affirmative modification centred on relationality and interdependence.

Presenter: Dr Oleksandr Svitych

Assistant Professor, Jindal School of International Affairs, India.

His research areas include Critical Political Economy, Critical Theory, International Relations, Political Sociology and Political Philosophy.Recent publications include Amartya Sen, Karl Polanyi, and Universal Basic Income(Journal of Human Development and Capabilities,2023 ) and Development for whom? The case of USAID in Ukraine’s Donbas( Review of International Political Economy,2023)

Discussant:Dr Kurtuluş Gemici

Associate Professor,Department of Sociology,Zhejiang University.

He is a comparative-historical sociologist working on international finance, the sociology of markets, and theory. His work has appeared in journals such as Theory & Society, Socio-Economic Review, Sociological Theory, and Politics & Society. Recent publications include Capital Mobility and Distributional Conflict (Routledge, 2020) and How Global Are Investment Banks? (Regional Studies, 2020, with Karen Lai).