In medieval myth, Cockaigne was a land of plenty, where work was outlawed, houses were made of pie and sausages, rivers of wine flowed, and ready-roasted geese and grilled fish followed villagers around, eager to be eaten. To the poor of the Middle Ages, according to the Dutch historian Herman Pleij, Cockaigne was a well-known paradise, a fantastical escape from the harshness of everyday life.
Nowadays, the Dutch city of Utrecht is about to see if such a place, where citizens’ fundamental needs are met without any obligations to work, need not be pure fantasy. There, the local government is planning to conduct an experiment that would give 250 Dutch citizens currently receiving government benefits a guaranteed monthly income. A two-year test period is tentatively set to begin in January of next year, and some citizens of Utrecht and some nearby cities will receive a flat sum of €960 per month (about $1,100).
According to Loek Groot, an associate professor at the Utrecht University School of Economics who is working with the government on the project, the Netherlands’ current welfare system wastes too much money and doesn’t do enough to help its beneficiaries. (Others are quick to say the same of America’s.) Groot’s hope is to learn if a guaranteed income might be a more effective approach.
[For more of this story, written by Tracy Brown Hamilton, go to http://www.theatlantic.com/bus...e-experiment/487883/]
Comments (0)